A Killer Among Us
by christibabe
Summary: A killer has their sights on someone in Trenton, New Jersey, and the BAU is closing in on them. How will Stephanie Plum, Ranger, and Joe Morelli deal with the situation? This is a Stephanie Plum/Criminal Minds crossover.
1. Chapter 1

**A Killer Among Us**

 **Chapter 1**

Lexi watched. It was something she was good at. Something she'd been doing all of her life. She didn't seem to be aware of the fact that the waitress had returned with her order or that she'd hovered for several minutes, as if waiting to see if anything else was needed. All of Lexi's focus was on the family across the room. The way they moved, spoke, even how they looked at each other. As she watched, each detail was ingrained into her eidetic memory.

The Pettigrews were an ordinary family, and from the weeks she'd spent watching them, she knew they had two dogs—a pit bull named Roxy and a Rottweiler named Midge. The boy, Cameron, was eleven. Filling in for his history teacher—Mrs. Harrington—had given Lexi a great deal of time to get to know him. A smile graced her face as she thought about how the old woman had suddenly taken ill. Her thoughts raced back to the meal she'd shared with her and knew there was no way _she_ would ever be found. After all, why would they even look when Mrs. Harrington called in sick every day?

Lexi's eyes darted to the front of the restaurant as Debbie—the Pettigrew's nineteen-year-old daughter—turned to look around the room. The snide remarks that Debbie had made toward her were etched into her memory. Her eyes hardened as she remembered that day when she'd taken Cameron home and how mean the girl had been, calling her an eighties reject. She'd added a rider about wondering what the school was thinking, hiring someone like Lexi, who obviously had no idea how to deal with the public.

She startled slightly as a voice above her said, "Excuse me… Is there something wrong with your food? I noticed that you haven't touched it."

Lexi's gaze went to the waitress, and she forced herself to smile. "No. I just got lost in my thoughts. Thank you. I'm sure everything will be fine."

The pretty brunette girl smiled and said, "Okay. Just give a holler if you need anything else."

"Don't worry, I will."

Feeling the waitress's eyes on her, she picked up her fork and absently started eating as her gaze kept going back to the family she was watching. The mother looked like an older version of the daughter. The classic, beautiful, blonde, cheerleader type. Dismissing her, Lexi turned her attention to the father.

David Pettigrew looked every bit as fit as he must have been in high school. From the many conversations she'd had with Cameron, Lexi knew that he was something of a football hero. And from the research she'd done, she learned that when his cheerleader girlfriend got pregnant, he'd done the honorable thing and married her. Until two weeks ago, he'd been faithful to his wife.

Her eyes gleamed as she thought about how that change had come about. She'd taken Cameron home that day.

 _It was unseasonably hot, and she felt like she was melting in the polyester suit she'd donned earlier that day. David had stopped home to pick up some plans that he needed for construction his company was doing on the downtown area, he'd told them when Cameron questioned why his father was home._

 _Debbie walked into the room and said, "I see the bag lady brought Cameron home again! I don't know why you have to spend so much time hanging around our family."_

 _David's response was instantaneous as he said, "Debbie! Go to your room. You're grounded for the next month."_

 _Debbie looked horrified as she said, "You can't mean that, Daddy!"_

" _You still live under my roof; you'll follow my rules. We don't treat guests that way, and it's time you learned that."_

 _Debbie turned and stormed out of the room._

 _Lexi had to fight the smile that was trying to form on her face. Instead, she schooled her features so that she would come off as a vulnerable young woman who'd been hurt by the verbal exchange._

 _David turned his attention to her. "I'm so sorry she acted that way. Please accept my apology."_

 _She let the smile come to her face but made sure it was a weak version. "It's all right."_

 _David sighed. "You're being too kind. It's not all right that she acts that way."_

 _Lexi shook her head. "It wasn't your fault." She stood. "I really need to be going now. I just wanted to make sure Cameron was home safe." She turned and smiled at the boy. She'd gone to great pains to ingratiate herself to him, and the adoring look on his face as he looked up at her told her she'd succeeded._

 _David smiled at her and offered his hand._

 _She accepted it, and he helped her up from the sofa. She smiled and let her hand linger on his forearm as she said, "I really need to get going."_

 _As Lexi made her way to her car, she decided that today was the day to put her plan in motion. She got in and pretended to try starting the car, then climbed back out and lifted the hood. A fast search was all it took to find what she needed. She pulled the chip out and broke it off before replacing it._

 _She'd just finished her task when a deep voice from behind her asked, "Car trouble?"_

 _She turned, her cheeks flushed from being so close to him. "It won't start."_

" _Would you like me to take a look?"_

 _Lexi forced a worried look on her face. "I wouldn't want you to be late."_

 _David grinned before winking at her. "Shh! Don't tell anyone, but the plans were just a ruse. Deidre's mother is coming for dinner tonight, and this was stage one of my getting out of being here for it."_

 _She grinned. "I'll keep your secret safe."_

 _It didn't take David long to find the problem that she'd engineered. "It doesn't look like this car is going anywhere. How about if I give you a ride home and we can have the car towed to the shop?"_

" _That would be wonderful, but I wouldn't want to put you out."_

" _No trouble. Come on."_

Lexi blinked, and once again her gaze went to the family she was watching as she recalled what had happened on the trip to her house, how she'd made sure that her skirt rode up on her leg. They were one of her best features, and she knew how to show them off. Every so often, she'd felt his gaze on her breasts as well.

When they'd reached her house, she'd invited him in for a drink. The minute his cheeks had flushed, she'd known that she had him.

A clattering brought her back to the present once again, and she looked over to the table she'd been watching. Deidre was berating their hapless waitress, and David's eyes looked away, as if he were wishing he could be anywhere else. She knew the second his gaze widened in startled surprise that he'd seen her. She smiled, lifting her fingers slightly and waggling them in a wave.

He blushed before hurriedly looking back to his family.

Suddenly, she felt hostile eyes on her and turned to see Debbie glaring at her. Forcing a smile to her lips, she nodded as if nothing were wrong.

Debbie touched her mother's arm, and when the older woman looked at her, she nodded in Lexi's direction.

Deidre glared at her.

Lexi placed her hand over her stomach, wondering why the two women were so hostile. There was no way they could know she was having an affair with David… She stilled as some of the things that had been happening the past week seemed to come together. Her eyes narrowed as she came to the conclusion that the two probably did know about the affair.

Lexi took out her phone and pretended an interest she didn't have as she finished the meal she'd lost interest in the minute it was ordered. She forced herself not to look over at them as they gathered up their things and prepared to leave. Once they'd walked out the door, she took a sigh of relief, but it was premature.

A shadow fell over her, causing her to look up. Debbie was standing there with a glare on her face.

"I know what happened, and I'm telling you to leave my father alone or you'll regret it."

Lexi feigned innocence. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Debbie grabbed the nearly full glass of wine from the table and threw it at Lexi. "I'm warning you…"

It was all Lexi could do to keep herself from reacting in the way she wanted.

The owner rushed over and took Debbie's arm. "You need to go home and calm down. You don't want people hearing you talk crazy like this."

Debbie pulled her arm out of his grasp. "I don't care who hears me. If the bitch doesn't stay away from my father, I'm going to make sure she regrets the day she ever came to this town."

Lexi hooded her eyes so the others wouldn't see the excitement she was unable to bank down. She reached for her purse, making sure that, to the onlookers, it looked as if she were deathly afraid of the young woman. She pulled out a twenty, laid it on the table, and then stood, making sure that her chair fell over. The clash drew the other diners' gazes in her direction.

She pinched herself as hard as she could in order to bring tears to her eyes. She knew how to make her lips quiver and had studied the mannerisms she needed to play the part she wanted to convey to all of those watching. "She's insane. I don't even know what she's talking about. Please keep her away from me. She's been stalking me, and I don't know why."

Covering her eyes, she let the sobs loose, knowing to the onlookers, she would appear to be the injured party.

Debbie took a step toward her but was stopped by another man. Lexi listened as the man told Debbie to leave or she would be arrested. The excitement she'd felt before was nothing compared to what she was feeling now.

A warm hand descended on her shoulder, and she jumped. She needed to make this look good.

"You're safe, ma'am. She's gone."

Lexi lifted tear-stained eyes. "Thank you."

The man was in his mid-fifties and had cop written all over him. "I'm Detective Trace Vickers. I'll write this up so that if she gives you problems again, there will be a paper trail."

She smiled wanly. "Thank you so much. I really don't understand this fixation she has with me."

He smiled. "Would you like me to walk you to your car?"

"Would you? That would be so nice of you."

Lexi let Detective Vickers put his arm around her as they exited the restaurant. They had only gone a few steps when Debbie flew at her in a rage. Detective Vickers soon had her handcuffed, and he called for a patrol car to come and pick Debbie up.

The patrol car was there in less than five minutes, and in that time, Lexi had told Vickers everything she wanted him to know. Once she was in her car, she schooled herself to stay in character as she cautiously pulled out into traffic.

When she got to her house, Lexi saw that David's car was parked in the drive. She pressed the door opener and drove into the garage. By the time she'd exited her car, David was standing there waiting for her.

She moved toward him, expecting him to take her in his arms like he had the last few times they'd been together.

Instead, he took a step back, his face solemn as he said, "We have to talk."

White-hot fury raced through her, but she couldn't let on. Instead, she lowered her head as if she was ashamed of the way she'd acted.

"Please, Lexi, don't do that. You aren't the one who's in the wrong here. All of this is on me. You were just so fresh and vibrant, and after nearly twenty years of marriage, that was something I desperately needed."

Lexi made her voice sound hesitant as she asked, "So you were just using me?"

"No!" His head hung down. "Not intentionally. Deidre found out about us, and she's livid. If I agree not to see you again, she'll forget about the whole thing. I'm sorry, but I have to think about Cameron."

"Debbie attacked me outside the restaurant."

David's hand ran through his hair as he let out a disgusted sigh. "I've made such a mess out of all of our lives. I'm sorry." He backed away. "I need to go to her."

Lexi watched as he got in his car and drove away. As the garage door closed behind her, she lifted her chin in anger and turned to go in the house. Setting her purse on the kitchen counter as she passed through on her way to the bedroom, she let the anger surface as she plotted her next move.

She stopped as she stepped into her bedroom. Flipping the light on, she scanned the pictures on the wall. She stepped forward, and one by one, she took each photo down and put it in the box marked _fragile_. When the last picture was in the box, she placed it on the dresser and then moved through the house to the office she'd set up. She booted up the computer and printed up another picture that she would need to add with the others. She lifted the photo and held it at eye level.

Smiling, her voice changed to an exact replica of Deidre's as she said, "No, David, I don't mind at all. Lexi is very important to our family. She belongs with us."

Lexi smiled. "Why, thank you, Mrs. Pettigrew. That's very sweet of you."

"I've always wanted another daughter. You'll fit into our family beautifully. Maybe you can teach Debbie some manners."

"I'll do my best."

Carrying the photo back to her bedroom, she placed it in the box with the others. As if on auto-pilot, she walked through the house and picked up all of the items that had special meaning to her—there weren't many. When she reached the kitchen, she grabbed her bag and made her way back out to the garage. She put the box in the trunk and grabbed the leather gloves that she kept there, as well as the hammer. There was a bag as well, and she set that on the floor of the car on the driver's side before making her way back into the house.

She took out Vickers' card to call him.

"Detective Vickers."

"Hello…this is…Lexi Southern. I…I'm sorry to bother you, but I saw someone outside, and I just wanted to make sure that Miss Pettigrew was still at the police station."

There was a hesitation on the other end before Vickers said, "I'm sorry, but Miss Pettigrew left ten minutes ago with her mother and lawyer."

"Oh no! Well…she couldn't have gotten here in ten minutes, could she?"

"What's your address?"

"Thirteen oh seven Milburn Way."

There was another pause before the detective said, "I'm sending a car your way. Is there a safe place in the house?"

"I…I don't know." Lexi moved to the side window and used the meat-mallet from the butcher block to break the window. She screamed into the phone and dropped it, smashing it to pieces. She went to the hall closet, grabbed the body that had been waiting for just such a moment, and let it fall beside the phone.

Going over to the broken window, she dropped the hammer on the other side so that it would be found. She glanced at her watch and knew that she had exactly two minutes to get the scene set and drive away or she risked being caught. She knew the police would know the window had been broken from the inside, but she'd gone to great pains to make sure that this window was cemented shut. This way it would look like someone had broken the window in order to escape.

Working as fast as she possibly could, she placed the accelerant-soaked material and then turned the gas stove on. She moved to the garage and quickly changed into her disguise. She put everything in the trunk and got into the car. She was cutting it close when she hit the button for the garage door, and she waited till it had just cleared the car before she barreled out of the garage and squealed the tires as she did a one eighty and sped away.

In the few seconds that the car was turning, she saw Debbie sneaking up to the house. Lexi smiled as she realized that the other woman was going to the exact window that had been broken. A smug smile filled her face as she pressed the button that would blow everything sky high. As she sped away, she caught a glimpse of Debbie being tossed in the air from the blast.

Lexi slowed down so that she wouldn't draw attention to herself. She had her next location already set up. Pulling into a motel, she got her key from the manager before parking in back. She grabbed her bag from the back and made her way to her room. Sitting down on the bed, she pulled the list from her bag. There were several names on the paper, eight of which had been marked off, and then there were three more names after her next destination. She had a week to make sure that the Pettigrews were taken care of before she started her new job as nanny to the Wilsons. George and Irene Wilson had just given birth to a son they'd named Peter. They were listed below the Pettigrews.

Pulling up her legs so she could wrap her arms around them, she rested her chin on her knees. Her voice was whisper-soft as she said, "I will belong."

After sitting there feeling sorry for herself for nearly half an hour, she decided that there was no time like the present to get started on the changes she needed to make. She dressed in the disguise she was going to use and then made sure the car was cleaned out except for a gas can. Next, she drove to a nearby gas station and then from there she made her way to the town junkyard. The barking of a dog made her jump, but she soon relaxed.

Taking the gas can out of the trunk, she doused the inside of the car with the liquid before making a trail as she left the car behind her. Once the can was empty, she retraced her steps and tossed the container into the car before hurrying to where the trail ended. She took out a book of matches, and then, carefully lighting a match, she started the book on fire and then dropped it onto the trail of gasoline. Lexi hurried to get as far away from the junkyard as possible before the fire reached the vehicle.

She'd just reached the entrance to the junkyard when the explosion occurred. She was far enough away not to have to worry about the heat of the blast, but the force of the explosion nearly sent her to the ground, and only her quick thinking stopped her from getting hurt. There were enough shrubs and trees around that she was able to blend in with the landscape to stay out of sight of potential witnesses who might be close by. Keeping her pace fast enough to get away before anyone else joined the party, she made her way across town and ducked into a pharmacy.

Lexi made her way up and down the aisles, picking up the items she would need to make her next transformation possible. Once she had everything, she went to the counter and paid cash for them and left. When she got outside the store, Lexi looked around and smiled as she saw a pay phone across the street. She hurried over there and called a cab to take her back to the motel.

Two hours later, she looked in the mirror, and there was no trace of the woman she'd been. She smiled, putting a finger to her lips she kissed the tip and then touched it to the lips of the woman in the mirror. She batted her eyelashes at the woman and said, "Well, hello, Alexa."

Turning from the mirror, she stripped down and climbed into bed. She slept for her standard five hours and woke automatically. Taking her laptop out of its case, she started searching for vehicles for sale. There were three in her price range, and she decided to go with the used Lexus. It was pricier, but the name had special meaning.

The beauty about ordering off the Internet was that she didn't have to let anyone see her right at the moment and she wouldn't need to let the manager of the motel see the car she would be driving. Smiling, she made sure that the car would have plates and everything in the name of Alexa Branton. It was easy enough to have them deliver the car to the address she gave them and leave the key where she specified since she'd already paid them in full for the amount of the car. Now, all she had to do was wait until dark to go and retrieve it and get the hell out of town so she could start the next phase of her plan.

Needing something to keep her busy, she went through the photos in the box, making sure that each of them was in perfect condition as she removed them from the frames. Out of everything she'd placed in the box, these were the true treasures. Once the task was complete, she placed the photos in the briefcase she used for the laptop. There were just a few other keepsakes, and she took the time to go through them as well. They were small enough that they would fit in the new purse that she'd bought. Now she just needed to make sure there was no way to trace these back to the life she'd left behind.

Taking out her gloves, she put them on and then grabbed a cloth so that she could wipe everything clean of any fingerprints. When she was convinced the trinkets were safe, she placed them in the purse. It didn't take her long to complete the task, and then she took the remains that were left in the box and put them in a garbage bag.

Lexi—or Alexa, as she now thought of herself—searched through the phonebook, and when she found the number she wanted, she used the motel phone to call for a pizza, arranging for payment at the same time, and then she waited the thirty minutes it took for the pizza to arrive.

When the knock came, she stood at the door and said, "Just leave it by the front door."

She watched through the curtain to make sure that the driver did as asked, and then once he'd driven away, she stepped outside to get the box and took it into the room. Pizza wasn't her favorite food, but it had the benefit that she could make sure no one saw her and that was her reason for ordering it. After she'd eaten, she lay down on the bed, deciding to take a nap so that she'd be ready to move out when it was dark enough. She was paid up through the week and she'd asked for no maid service, so she wouldn't have to worry about those in the office coming here unexpectedly until her time was up. By then, Lexi Southern would be dead.

Her sleep was peaceful, and she took that as a sign that she was doing the right thing. Five hours was all she'd slept—that's all she could ever sleep. When she woke, she looked around, a bit disoriented due to the time. Normally it would be light out, but since she'd slept in the early afternoon, it was after nine p.m. now and there was darkness. Alexa slipped from bed and made her way to the bathroom to shower. She wanted no traces of the old life on her when she left here.

Less than an hour later, she was ready. She called for a cab and arranged for them to pick her up a short distance away. She grabbed her briefcase, the garbage bag, and her purse, and then she headed for the rendezvous spot. She made it just as the cab pulled over to the curb. Climbing into the backseat, she gave the driver the address.

Fifteen minutes later, the cab pulled up three blocks from where she'd arranged for the car to be parked. She paid the cabbie and added an average amount for a tip. She didn't want him remembering her because she'd paid him a huge tip, and by the same token, she didn't want him to remember her because of a too-small tip.

Alexa walked the three blocks to the car and felt a sense of elation when it was there. She waited around and made sure that no one was watching before moving in closer. Climbing into the car, she made her way to Hopatcong, New Jersey. After finding a motel, she checked in under her new name, Alexa Branton.

Once she got situated in the room, she went to work setting up her new life. It took her less than a day to get everything arranged. Once that was done, she had a window of time that she would be able to put her plan regarding the Pettigrew family in motion. To that end, she arranged for one final purchase.

She walked the half-mile to the location where she'd arranged for another vehicle to be dropped off. Once again, she made sure no one was waiting around and then made her way to the car and climbed in. She had the directions to the spot where she needed to go, and that's where she headed.

After a bit of driving, she finally reached her destination. Looking around at her temporary home for the next week—a decrepit log cabin of a motel located in the middle of nowhere, twenty-five miles out of town—Alexa parked the '66 Buick Lesabre. She made her way into the front office of the motel and gave an involuntary shudder at the décor—retro nineteen fifties if she wasn't mistaken—and made her way over to the counter. Trying to portray that she was nervous, her voice was little more than a whisper as she said, "I…I need a room for the night, please."

The big, burly man behind the counter was wearing a wifebeater and plaid shorts, his hairy chest and arms visible as he pushed the sign-in book her way. He gruffly said, "I need some I.D. and cash payment in advance."

Alexa opened her purse and pulled out the ID indicating she was Loraine Dumont, along with a couple of twenties. "Will that be enough?"

He looked at the money on the counter and gave a brisk nod. "That will get you two nights. If you intend to stay longer, you'll need to add to it tomorrow night."

She nodded and then accepted the skeleton key that was placed on the counter as she said, "Thank you."

The man grinned, his tobacco-stained teeth prominent. "Cabin's down the lane about half a mile. The name is Steele—Josiah Steele—and if you need anything, just dial zero on your phone."

Alexa had practiced her shy smile for hours in front of the mirror over the years and knew just what movements of her face were needed to portray it. She made those movements now and let her mind remember the time she'd been humiliated by her fiancé. She needed the pink that she'd known would come to her cheeks by remembering him and what had happened.

Lowering her eyes to give the impression of innocence, she said, "Thank you. I'll remember." She turned and walked back out the door.

The cabin was easy to find. She parked in front of it and then got her bag out of the back before making her way inside. When Josiah said cabin, he wasn't kidding. It was even more rustic than the office had been. She felt like she'd gone back in time to the late eighteen hundreds, when people were building log cabins in which to live. Her expression tightened at the thought that even though she had a week to do this, it had better not take more than two nights to finish, or she was going to go nuts trapped in this log prison.

The skeleton key unlocked the door, and when she opened it, another shudder racked her small frame. Great! All of the things she hated with a passion. Reluctantly, she entered the cabin and lit the kerosene lamp on the table. Twenty dollars a night didn't get you much nowadays.

Alexa looked disparagingly around the room. The furnishings looked like they'd come from the same period as the cabin—a wooden rocking chair, table, two chairs, and a wood-framed bed with what looked like animal pelts as a mattress. Her hands clenched as she fumed at the situation she was in. This was the only way, though. No one ever came to this motel, and now that she'd seen this, she knew the reason for that. She set her bag on the table and decided to get her revenge over with so she could get the hell out of here and move on.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

JJ Jareau looked in on her four-year-old… A smile slipped onto her face as she acknowledged that, no, today Henry was five years old. In just a few minutes, she would wake him up so they could get ready to go to Rossi's house for the picnic the team was having to help celebrate the day. Warm arms from behind enfolded her in an embrace, and she leaned back into the welcoming arms of her husband. Her head rested on Will's chest as she looked up at him.

"Is everything ready?"

Will nodded. "Yeah. I just need to put his gift in the trunk. We should wake Henry so we can get going." His Southern accent was as prevalent now as it had been the first day that she'd met him in Louisiana.

JJ stayed where she was for several seconds before moving away from Will. "Okay. I'll take care of Henry if you want to put the gift in the trunk." She turned into Will's arms, and they kissed for several seconds before they separated to do what was necessary to get ready for the day.

She moved into the room and sat down on the bed. Resting her hand on her son, she smiled. "Hey, little man. It's time to wake up."

Henry's eyes opened, although it took him several seconds to be fully alert. Then they widened even more, and there was excitement on his face as he whispered, "It's my birthday! We gonna have a party?!"

JJ's smile widened as she leaned down and kissed his forehead. "Yes. We're going to get you ready, and then we'll go to Uncle Rossi's for the day and you'll get to play with Jack."

"Will Uncle Spence be there too?"

"Yes. Uncle Spence, Aunt Penelope, and all the others will be there too."

Henry bounded up out of his bed and threw his arms around his mother's neck.

JJ hugged him to her and stood, carrying him with her as she walked over to his closet. She grabbed the outfit she'd bought especially for the day and then set about getting Henry ready. Once he was dressed, they made their way to the kitchen together, and she fixed him his favorite breakfast of a toad in the hole—fried egg in the middle of a slice of toast.

Henry finished quickly…well, as quickly as a five-year-old could eat, and then they were on their way.

When they pulled up at Rossi's, JJ knew by the cars already parked in the driveway that the rest of the team was already there. She climbed out of the car and reached in the back to unbuckle Henry from his car seat. Although he was old enough for a booster, because of his size, she and Will had decided that they would continue using the seat with the bar coming down over the head and buckling between the legs.

She lifted Henry in her arms and backed out of the car before setting him down on the driveway. Taking his hand, the two of them made their way up to the house.

Henry turned back and then looked up to her to ask, "Daddy coming?"

She smiled down at him, then said, "Yes, he just needs to get something out of the car first."

There was a gleam in Henry's eyes as they widened. "Is he getting my pwesent?"

JJ laughed as she swooped down, lifted Henry in her arms, and swung him around. "You're too smart. Have you been taking lessons from Uncle Spence?"

He laughed.

The front door opened, and Rossi stood there with a smile. "Well, if it isn't the birthday boy. Come on in and we'll get the party started."

JJ reached down and tilted Henry's head up so he was looking at her. "What do we say to uncle Rossi?"

Henry smiled and turned so he was looking at Rossi. "Thank you for my party."

Rossi winked. "You are very welcome. Now let's go let everyone else know the guest of honor is here."

Henry grinned. "Yay!"

Rossi held out his hand, and Henry took it as JJ followed them through to the back patio.

As soon as they stepped out onto the patio, everyone cheered. Henry stood beside Rossi, grinning from ear to ear. JJ found herself getting a bit misty-eyed at the reception. Over the years, she'd grown very close to the people she worked with. They'd become an integral part of her family, and it was fitting that they were here to celebrate this milestone with her.

Her gaze went first to their team leader, Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner. When she'd first started working with the BAU team, she'd had something of a crush on the tall, dark, and handsome Hotch, who towered over her by about seven inches. Hotch had been fiercely loyal to his wife Hailey, and even after the couple separated, he never stopped loving her. When she was killed by the Reaper, he'd been devastated. The only thing that had saved the couple's then four-year-old son, Jack, was that Hotch had told Jack he needed him to work the case with him. One day shortly before the separation, Hotch had been in his home office looking over a file when there was a knock from the settee bench beside the desk. He'd opened the lid to see Jack lying in the interior. The little boy had grinned up at his dad and said, "I work the case with you, Dad." So when the Reaper had broken in to Hailey's house and held her at gunpoint, Hotch had told Jack over the phone to work the case with him—and when he found him a few minutes later, Jack was hiding in the settee bench once more, safe from the Reaper's violence.

Today, father and son were dressed alike in jeans and sweatshirts. Eight-year-old Jack was a well-adjusted child, which was a testament to Hotch's skill in making Jack feel loved and secure after his mother's death.

As if sensing eyes on him, Hotch looked up and met JJ's gaze. He smiled, his dimples showing, and raised a hand in greeting.

JJ's gaze moved to Derek Morgan, the ladies' man of the group. There was no getting around the fact that Derek was hot. Although he dated frequently, none of the women lasted more than a couple of months at most, and more often, it was only a matter of two or three weeks before he moved on. Morgan had grown up in Chicago, and after his cop father was killed in the line of duty, he'd lost his way for a while until he met Carl Buford. The man had run a youth center and got Morgan involved in football. What most people hadn't been aware of was that Buford had also molested Morgan as well as other boys that were part of the youth center. It wasn't until Morgan had made a routine visit to his family and been arrested when another young boy was found murdered that the team had learned about this part of Morgan's past.

Buford had been arrested when the truth had come out after Morgan confronted him at the youth center. The police officer who had been the bane of Morgan's youth had even apologized for his treatment of Morgan as a criminal over the years.

Morgan's whole face lit up when he smiled, and JJ couldn't help but respect him even more at times like this, that he hadn't allowed his past to stop him from moving forward and doing something good with his life instead of wallowing in the negative.

Dr. Spencer Reid was the brain of the group. He had been a child protégé. Not only did he have an IQ of over one hundred sixty, but he also had an eidetic memory. Spence, as she always called him, was Henry's godfather, and he took his role seriously. His mother was in a Las Vegas sanitarium because she was a schizophrenic. JJ knew Spence worried that he'd suffer the same fate and it weighed on his mind. Several months before, he'd thought he'd found the woman of his dreams—although he'd never seen Maeve Donovan until the end. Spence and Maeve had talked by phone numerous times, but Maeve was hiding from a stalker. Reid—as he was known to the team—had offered the unit's help, but Maeve had been afraid he would be in danger. It wasn't until he had called her and a metallic voice had spoken that he knew Maeve was in danger and had very likely been taken by the stalker.

The team had worked hard to find her, and in the end, Reid had gotten to see Maeve before her stalker had put a gun to her own head and pulled the trigger, killing Maeve as well as herself.

JJ's gaze was drawn to a newcomer to the group around Henry. Penelope Garcia was the resident technical analyst. There was none better than Penelope. It was her computer skills that had gotten her the job with the BAU. JJ still remembered the day that Hotch had told her that Garcia had been shot and wasn't expected to make it. It was while they were investigating what happened that she learned Garcia first came under the Bureau's eye because she was a hacker.

Penelope was part of a support group for victims' families, and some of the people, after finding out she worked for the FBI, asked her to look into the cases involving their loved ones. She flagged them to let the people investigating know that the Bureau was interested in seeing the cases solved. It was that action that had caused the police officer investigating those cases to target her and shoot her because he thought she was on to him. He was putting people in danger so that he could save them. When Kevin Lynch, another technical analyst, was going through her files, the officer showed up at the BAU, and Kevin sent a coded message to Garcia. Knowing that it could be a trap, she put in the code and was able to see that the man who shot her was at the BAU. Once Morgan had alerted Hotch, they'd called her. JJ could still remember standing there and taking aim. She hadn't even hesitated when she'd pulled the trigger.

It was after that incident that Garcia and Kevin started dating. The couple had broken up not long ago when Kevin asked Garcia to marry him. JJ suspected the main reason that her friend hadn't been able to commit herself to Kevin was because Garcia was in love with Morgan. The two had an overtly flirtatious relationship while still being the best of friends. Although the two had never acted on their feelings, she knew from the way Morgan looked at Garcia that he had deep feelings for her as well.

A hand descended on her back, and she turned to meet Will's gaze. They'd met after Hurricane Katrina when Will had contacted the BAU for help on a case. His father had been the lead detective on the case, but he'd been killed during the hurricane, so the case had fallen to Will to solve. They'd spent every minute they could together, and when Will had shown up when the BAU was investigating another case, she'd nearly ended her relationship with him. In the end, she realized she was just getting cold feet because of how much Will was coming to mean to her. Then when she'd worked another case where a woman was dealing with a stalker, it'd come out that the woman had had an abortion and never mentioned it to the baby's father that she was even pregnant. JJ had decided that she needed to tell Will that she was pregnant. Will had uprooted himself and started a new life for himself in Virginia so that he could be by her side. Although he'd asked her to marry him several times, her answer had always been the same until Will had nearly been killed during a bank robbery. Having almost lost him, she'd told him to ask her again, and that time she'd said yes.

That was the last time they'd been to Rossi's, so it was only fitting that Henry's fifth birthday was celebrated here as well. With their family.

Rossi stepped up beside Will and raised the glass in his hand in toast. "Are we ready to get this party started?"

JJ frowned. "Where's Blake?"

Alex Blake was the newest member of the team to come on board after Emily Prentiss had moved to England to take over the London office of Interpol. Blake had taken a hit when a case went bad earlier in her career, and Erin Strauss—Hotch's superior—had left her out to dry. It had taken a lot of hard work, but Blake had finally worked herself back into the good graces of the Bureau and had been given a second chance.

One of the other members of Blake's team who had become persona-non-grata had taken exception to Blake getting a second chance when he felt that she received what should have come to him, and he'd targeted the whole team, even going so far as to kill their boss, Erin Strauss. When they'd arrived at the man's home, he'd trapped some of the members in a chamber of the house where they would have been blown up, but Rossi had managed to get them out and then escape himself before the explosion. The man who'd been stalking them—the Replicator—had been blown up when he'd gotten trapped in his own snare.

David Rossi was a noted author and an excellent profiler. He was part of the original BAU team but had retired, only coming back to work after another original team member, Jason Gideon, had departed when a bad guy they were trying to capture had killed Gideon's girlfriend. Rossi had been quieter since Strauss's murder. The two had been close, and he'd been hit hard by her death.

Rossi's face took on a serious demeanor. "She was called out of town. Some place named Hopatcong, New Jersey. Her niece and nephew were killed in a fire."

JJ frowned. "How awful!"

"She said she'd check in with us as soon as she knew what was going on."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Stephanie Plum, Lula Banks, and Mary Lou Stankovic sat huddled under blankets as they watched the players on the field. Considering she wouldn't necessarily need to be out here in this weather, Mary Lou was a trooper to come along with her husband Lenny and keep Stephanie and Lula company.

Lula pulled her blanket closer around her and grumbled. "Remind me again why we doing this."

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "It's not that bad. Besides, it's the least we can do for getting the guys into this mess in the first place."

Lula's eyes widened. "How was I ta know the cops was gonna take such a itty bitty taunt ta heart and challenge the guys?"

"You couldn't, but then you had to go and add the rider about real men, and then Lester and Bobby walked in with Tiny—a high-bond skip who was wanted on a capital murder charge. Lester's comment coming so quickly after yours must have hit its mark, and Carl challenged Lester, who accepted before he even knew what he was accepting."

Lula's expression took on a disheartened look as she said, "Yeah. That was probably not the best thing that coulda happened."

Mary Lou chuckled. "So that's how all of this came about?"

Stephanie nodded. "Yeah. And since I know how good those guys are, I figured that the RangeMan team would need every advantage that we can give them."

Mary Lou was still smiling as she shook her head. "Lenny's good at coaching, but this has the potential to end badly. They only have three weeks to get their team in shape, and we all know that the police department's team plays against professional teams for practice."

Lula's look was hang-dogged. "My name's gonna be mud. You know, I bet that's why Tank was so willing to agree to a date if RangeMan beat the police department. He knew it wasn't on."

Stephanie shook her head once again. "Every one of those guys is going to give it their all because we all know how vicious the TPD team can be in ribbing the teams that lose. And then there's that thing about the losers dressing up in drag at the Policeman's Ball."

Lula and Mary Lou's eyes widened as they both exclaimed, "Oh, shit!"

Lula paled. "I'm gonna have ta leave town. They'll murdalize me if they lose and gotta dress like women."

Mary Lou put her thumb up to her mouth and started biting on the nail. "No wonder Lenny's been so fanatical about this."

Lula and Stephanie both nodded their heads as all eyes went to the field to watch the practice going on there.

As she watched, Stephanie let her gaze wander over the guys on the field. She'd grown close to all of them over the past few years, even more so since she'd finally broken things off with Joe and bared her soul to Ranger, telling him she loved him. He'd admitted his feelings for her as well, and she'd moved into the seventh-floor apartment.

Although she still worked for her cousin, Vincent Plum Bail Bonds, it had gotten easier bringing in FTAs since she'd taken Ranger up on his offer to give her the training she needed. She smiled to herself as she recalled Ranger's earlier attempts to get her into shape. How he'd come to her apartment and dragged her out of bed to go running with him. Ranger had known her heart wasn't into it, and he'd let her slide out of it easily enough.

Stephanie was ever grateful to Vinnie's secretary Connie Rosolli for introducing her to Ranger Manoso. Connie had called Ranger when Stephanie first started bounty hunting and asked him to give her some pointers. When she'd walked into that diner and taken one look at him, she wasn't aware of it then, but she'd fallen head over heels in love and nothing was ever the same. Although she'd had an on-again, off-again relationship with Joe Morelli, the boy who, at eight years old, had taken her to his father's garage when she was six and played trains with her. She was so mad at him because he'd been the train and wouldn't give her the chance to be the train going into the tunnel. Then when she was sixteen, he'd taken her virginity on the floor of the Tasty Pastry before he left town to join the Navy.

When she saw him back in town three years later, she'd let the rage and hurt from him just leaving town without a word—well, if you didn't count that he'd written about her on every bathroom wall in Trenton, as well as under the bleachers at the high school—dictate her actions, and she'd jumped the curb and hit him with her dad's Buick.

It was over a decade later that she'd seen Joe again. She'd just lost her job as a lingerie buyer and her car had been repossessed, and in desperation she'd blackmailed her cousin into hiring her as a bound-enforcement agent. The FTA—Failure to Appear—she'd been going after was Morelli. He'd been charged with murder. He was a cop and knew his chances of staying alive wouldn't be good if he allowed himself to be taken back into custody.

It was through her attempts to capture Joe that she'd met Lula, who was a hooker at the time and working on Stark Street. Benito Ramirez, a fighter who had a penchant for beating and cutting the women he had sex with, had seen Lula talking with Stephanie and had brutalized Lula and left her half dead on Stephanie's fire escape as a message to Stephanie of just what he planned to do to her. Lula had survived though, and Stephanie had found the evidence Joe needed to prove his innocence. She'd succeeded in taking him in and collecting the bounty.

After that, Joe had become a fixture in her life again and eventually became her on-again, off-again boyfriend. Joe was on the police department's team, and he was still as good of a player as he'd been in high school. He was now a Homicide Detective with the Trenton Police Department, and although they were no longer together, they remained friends.

Ranger was ex-military, half American and half Cuban, and one hundred percent sexy male. He'd been in the Rangers and had taken part in several secret missions since he'd left the service. He was also the owner and CEO of RangeMan Security Ltd, which had headquarters in Miami, Boston, and Trenton. At one time, he'd had an office in Atlanta as well, but he'd allowed his partner to buy him out of that one.

It was during the time that Ranger's daughter, Julie, had been kidnapped and the man who took her tried to take over Ranger's life that Stephanie came to her senses and admitted that what she and Joe had wasn't enough. Edward Scrog looked enough like Ranger to pass for his twin, and he'd used that resemblance to kidnap Julie, and then he'd kidnapped Stephanie to complete his family.

It was when Scrog was holding Stephanie and Julie in Stephanie's apartment that she'd come to realize as much as she loved Joe and prayed he wouldn't be the one walking through the door, she had to admit that she was praying even harder that it wouldn't be Ranger. Ranger had walked into the apartment unarmed, fully willing to give up his life for his daughter as well as for Stephanie. When Scrog shot him in the shoulder, her world had come crashing in around her, and if there was any way she could have gotten loose, she would have stepped in front of the bullet to save Ranger. But she'd been tied to a chair, and it had been left to eight-year-old Julie, who'd gotten ahold of the gun and shot Scrog.

A shout from the field brought Stephanie's attention back to the present, and she squinted to see who was down on the ground. She winced when she saw that Lester was beneath Tank and Binkie. When he got up, Lester Santos was moving a bit slower. He was the ladies' man of the group. Although all of the guys were hot, Lester's fun-loving personality had women flocking to him in droves. Lester was a couple of inches taller than Ranger and he wasn't as muscled, but their coloring was similar, as it should be, since they were cousins—Lester's father and Ranger's mother were brother and sister.

On the other side of the scale, Ranger's second in command, Tank—whose real name no one was brave enough to call him—was six and a half feet in height and close to three hundred and fifty pounds of muscle. His black head was shaved bald, and she'd never seen it any other way.

Bobby Brown, the RangeMan medic, started jogging over to Lester, but he was waved away. Bobby was built similarly to Lester, and his coloring was somewhere between Tank's and Lester's. He was a good-looking man and for the most part was easygoing. It was a mistake to write him off as a weaker opponent, though, because he was every bit as deadly as the rest of the team.

Even though Stephanie had known this group of men for years, there were more things she didn't know about them than things she did know. For instance, she knew that Vince was Italian and knew more members of the mob than it was healthy to know; Woody was from Texas, had a southern drawl, and looked like the perfect cowboy; Manny was descended from the conquistadors of Mexico, an expert with cars, and loved practical jokes; Ram was the RangeMan sniper and an expert with weapons of all kinds; Hector had once been in a gang but had miraculously been allowed to leave. He had two teardrops under his right eye, which was an indication that he had killed two people and might explain why the gang gave him a wide berth as well as why no one dared make fun of him for being gay. Hector was also an expert with locks, gadgets, and anything to do with a computer.

The other members of the RangMan crew who were taking part in the football game against the police department included Binkie, who was the youngest member of the RangeMan group and was beautiful with his blond hair and blue eyes, and Junior, who looked the part of a defensive end and was a great asset to have along on a takedown. There was also Cal, who had a flaming skull tattoo on the middle of his forehead. He'd been Stephanie's bodyguard at one point, and they'd gone to the hospital because Steph's sister, Val, was in labor and Cal had fainted and gotten a concussion when Val's water broke on him and he'd gotten wet. One of Stephanie's favorite Merry Men, Hal, was also there. Hal still hadn't lived down the fact that when he went to the garage to stop Stephanie from leaving RangeMan—because once again, someone was after her—Stephanie had asked to see his stun gun and he'd trustingly handed it over, only to have her stun him. Finally, there was Rodriguez. The man was in charge of all the searches and assigning paperwork. During Stephanie's stints working for RangeMan, he'd taken great delight in overflowing her inbox in an attempt to keep her busy.

All of these men had something in common besides working for Ranger. None of their last names were known by anyone in Trenton except a select few.

Stephanie's gaze went to Mary Lou's husband, Lenny. They'd been sweethearts since grade school, and when Lenny showed promise on the football field, Mary Lou had been willing to let him follow his dream. Then the final game of senior year, he'd blown out his knee when he'd been tackled by three members of the opposing team who moved out before the play was called. An off-side penalty had been given, but it did Lenny no good as he was carried off the field, his professional football career over before it even got started.

Mary Lou had stayed by Lenny's side, and it was her love that had carried him through the bad times and brought them out stronger at the other end. Lenny had gone to work for his uncle as a plumber, and he and Mary Lou had married less than six months later. They'd been very happy ever since, and it was plain for all to see just how much Lenny loved his wife and three children—Kenny, Mikey, and Sarah—and it was just as apparent that her family was everything to Mary Lou.

The theme from _Jaws_ played, and Stephanie grimaced as she dug through her Coach bag to retrieve it. Connecting the call, she lifted the phone to her ear. "Hey, Mom. What's up?"

"Does something have to be up for me to call you?"

"Well, no…" Stephanie knew better than to add that it was just because she knew her mother and she wouldn't be calling now if something wasn't up.

There was a sigh on the other end. "Am I really that transparent?"

Stephanie smiled. "I wouldn't say you're transparent, exactly…"

"Well, you were right. Your grandmother is driving your father nuts, and if you don't get her out of the house, I'm afraid he'll do something drastic. Is there any way she can stay with you for a few days?"

Stephanie's eyes widened in horror. Grandma Mazur was the nicest little old lady that you'd ever want to meet. She just had a few quirks. She loved ogling men, and she had a penchant for getting in trouble. There was no way that Grandma Mazur would be able to stay at RangeMan. However, Stephanie had kept her old apartment. Not because she ever thought she'd move back there, but because when she did pick up a stalker, it was an excellent decoy for when they decided to try to blow her up. "How about if Grandma stays at my apartment and I can ask Ranger to have RangeMan make sure it's secure?"

"Are you sure it'll be safe? You don't have any stalkers right now, do you?"

"No, Ma. No stalkers. And it will be safe enough for a few days."

"I suppose that will have to do. You're sure you couldn't have her stay with you and Ranger?"

"Uhm…you do realize I live in a building where several single men also live. And, well, the one thing that all of the guys have in common is that they're hunks."

Another sigh sounded. "Yes, I see your point. All right. Your apartment will have to suffice."

"Tell Grandma we'll be over for her just as soon as the guys get done with football practice."

"I will…and thank you, Stephanie."

After replacing her phone in her bag, she looked at her friends.

Lula's eyes were round as a saucer. "Your momma want you to babysit Granny?"

"Yes. She's driving my dad nuts, and Mom fears for her safety."

Stephanie's father, Frank Plum, was a retired postal worker who now drove a cab part time to supplement his social security. He was the Italian part of the family.

Grandma Mazur was her mother's—Helen Plum's—mother, and they represented the Hungarian side of the family. Stephanie loved her mother and knew that she was loved in return. She was just glad all of the matchmaking was over and she didn't have to worry about her mother setting her up with another killer—although to be fair to her mother, she hadn't known he was at the time. She knew it was because her mother wanted her to be happy, but Stephanie didn't find it necessary to be married with a passel of babies in order to be happy. Once she'd made it known that she and Ranger were a couple, Helen had reluctantly accepted that her daughter's life wasn't going to mimic her own.

Two police cruisers pulled up, and Carl Costanza, Big Dog, and Eddie Gazarra climbed out of the two vehicles. Carl raised a hand in a wave as the trio walked over to where the girls were sitting.

Eddie grinned. "So how's the team shaping up? You know we can call it off. Of course, that would mean that Ranger and his team would need to dress in drag for the ball."

A shadow fell over them, and they turned to see Tank standing there. "You three are on private property. You need to leave before we press charges."

Carl's eyes widened. "What do you mean, private property? This field is city property. We always practice here after our shift."

Tank shook his head. "Not no more you don't. Ranger signed the paperwork this morning. He also bought the other three fields, including the one that the schools use to play their games. While the schools have permission, I don't see your team being accorded the same privilege."

Eddie shook his head, still grinning ear to ear. "I'm sure you know that paybacks are a bitch."

Tank shrugged. "By all means. Do your worst." He grinned. "Oh, just so that you know, any retaliation against us will be considered as a termination of our working relationship with the TPD." He winked. "You know what that means, right?"

Stephanie had known that there was a plan in the works to level the playing field; she didn't realize just what that plan entailed. Eddie was her cousin's—Shirley the whiner's—husband and he'd been a great help to her over the years. She'd taken communion with Carl, who, along with his partner Big Dog, had come to her rescue numerous times. Most notably when someone had left a bag of live snakes on her door handle.

Carl shook his head. "Looks like we lost our advantage, boys."

Stephanie's eyes narrowed as she watched the three walking back to their cruisers. She had a feeling that there was more to the guys showing up here than they were letting on. She stood, and quickly mumbled to the others that she'd be back, and then ran after the trio. She caught up with them in time to hear Big Dog laughing and wondering what Ranger and his team were going to say when they found out they'd arranged to practice with the Eagles. She ducked behind a tree so they wouldn't see her and then hurried back to the field so she could let Ranger know about this new development.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Alex Blake walked into the burned-out shell that was once the house where her niece and nephew-in-law lived. Irene had always been like a daughter to her, and she'd been a tremendous blessing after Evan—Blake's son—died. When Irene was in her second year of college, her mother died. Blake had promised her sister that she would look after the girl. Irene had been so happy when she'd found out that she and George were going to have a baby. And then when Peter was born, the post-partum depression that had hit her terrified her to the point she was afraid to hold her own baby. To alleviate her fears of harming her newborn son, Irene had asked George if they could hire a nanny.

Something felt wrong about this to Alex. It was more a gut feeling than that she actually had any proof…but walking through what was left of the house, she just couldn't see the child she'd known so well doing something like this. She looked down at the file she'd been given and opened it. As she scanned the information, she frowned. All she could think was, _No, that's not right_.

Pulling out her cell, she made a call. If anyone could figure it out, she knew that he could. And right now, her thoughts just weren't where they needed to be for her to do this by herself. She knew that he'd understand.

"Hello?"

"Reid. I need your help."

"Name it."

She took a relieved breath. "I can't get over the feeling that what I'm being told isn't how things happened. There's some information in the file I was given that doesn't seem right either. If anyone can find the incongruities, I know that you can."

"I can be there in five hours and one minute, depending on the traffic."

Blake smiled at the precision of Reid's timing. "Thank you. I appreciate it."

"Do you want me to let the others know? Maybe they could offer some insight as well."

She hesitated. "Not just yet. I want to make sure this isn't just wishful thinking on my part first. You can let Hotch know why I've asked you to join me since it would affect your readiness if they get a case."

"I'll see you in a few hours."

Blake placed her phone back in her jacket pocket and continued walking through the house as she catalogued all of the little things that didn't add up.

Reid placed his phone back in his pocket before returning to the patio where the birthday party for his godson, Henry, was taking place. The party was winding down, and everyone was gathered saying their goodbyes. He joined the others and made eye contact with Hotch.

Hotch gave a slight nod before whispering in Beth's ear.

She met his gaze and smiled.

Reid moved to follow. He waited till they were far enough away not to be overheard and then said, "Blake called. She asked if I could come and give her a fresh pair of eyes. There are some things that aren't adding up, but she's not sure if it's just wishful thinking on her part or if there's really something to it."

Hotch frowned. "We don't have a case right now, so that should be fine. Let us know if there's anything we can do."

Reid nodded. "I will."

The two returned to the group.

JJ smiled. "Thank you all for making Henry's fifth birthday so special."

Derek grinned. "We couldn't let his turning five go by without making a big deal."

JJ looked down at Henry, who was lying against her chest. "Well, it's time we get this little man home and ready for bed."

Will laid a hand on Henry's head. "Yeah. Especially if we're going to go to the zoo tomorrow."

Penelope's eyes widened. "Are you going to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park?"

Will nodded. "That's the one. It's Henry's favorite."

Penelope looked excited. "I love that zoo too!"

Will and JJ shared a look for a brief second, and then Will asked, "Would you like to come along?"

Penelope was nodding as soon as he got the word like out of his mouth. Then she turned, her gaze zeroing in on Derek Morgan before she said, "I need someone to go with me so it doesn't look like I'm a third wheel though. Can I bring someone else?"

Will grinned. "Sure. I don't think that'll hurt."

Derek started shaking his head. "Oh, no…"

Penelope grabbed his hand as she pleaded with him. "Oh, come on, Derek. Please? If you don't, then I won't feel comfortable going along. I'll feel like I'm intruding."

Derek looked around as if he were a drowning man looking for a life preserver. When he caught Reid's gaze, he said, "Reid can go with you. He's—"

Hotch broke in to say, "Reid is going to be busy tomorrow with something else." He turned to Beth with a questioning look in his eye, and at her nod, he added, "But Beth, Jack, and I would love to come if the invitation is open."

JJ nodded. "Everyone is welcome. How about it, Rossi? Would you like to come too?"

Rossi shook his head. "Sorry. I have some work to do on a book."

Penelope turned to Derek. "See, you have to come with me now. Everyone else will be matched up, and I'll look odd."

Derek gave a long-suffering sigh. "All right, Baby Girl. I'll go with you." When he saw the way her eyes lit up, his lit up as well, and he smiled a smile that Reid had only ever seen him give Garcia.

It was exactly five hours and thirty-one minutes later when Reid knocked on Blake's motel room door. When she opened it, he looked a bit uncomfortable at the emotional pain that was apparent on her face. Not sure what to do to diffuse the situation, he stood there awkwardly. "Sorry I'm late."

Blake gave a week smile. "You're not late."

"Technically, I am. I told you that I would be here in five hours and one minute, and it's been five hours and thirty-one minutes."

She chuckled. "You forgot to take into account going home and packing a bag."

"Well, no, I always have a go-bag in my car. Given the job we do, it's a necessity. It was telling everyone goodbye and explaining the situation to Hotch that caused part of the delay, and then I wanted to see the crime scene before I got any of the information so that I'd have an unbiased basis from which to make a hypothesis."

Blake stepped back. "Come on in."

Reid stepped into the room. He hesitated and then said, "I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

She shook her head. "Just being here is enough."

He awkwardly took her in his arms.

Blake wrapped her arms around him, clinging to him as the sobs took over. All the pain she'd been feeling since she'd gotten the news of Irene's and George's deaths came out as she stood there wrapped in Reid's arms. She knew she was being unfair to him because he wasn't comfortable with dealing with this kind of emotion, but she needed this.

After several minutes, she had herself under control enough to step back. "I'm sorry. I know that's not in your wheelhouse of things you're comfortable with."

"It's okay."

Moving over the bed, she plopped down. "So…what did you find at the house?"

"I think you might be right about things not adding up."

She straightened up. "So I was right?"

Reid shook his head. "I'm not sure. But there were enough questions that it bears looking into."

"All right." She reached out for the file on the nightstand. "This is the file I was given. According to the lead detective, they've ruled this a homicide/suicide."

Reid reached out and took the file from her. Although he'd prefer to do this elsewhere so he'd have a chance to figure out how to tell Alex if he didn't find anything, he knew how anxious she was to have answers.

On the third page, the incongruities started. He waited till he'd finished reading all of the information before he handed the file back to Alex and sat down in the chair across from her. "On the third page, the remains of the infant were consistent with the size of a three-month-old, but from the age of the bone fragments that were retrieved, the age of the baby was nine months. You said that Irene had Peter three months ago. There would be no way for the bones to be aged nine months…"

Blake broke in to say, "Unless the baby that died in the fire wasn't Peter!"

Reid nodded. "That's the most logical conclusion. I'll talk with the coroner later today to make sure there wasn't a mistake, and then we can go from there."

"Thanks, Reid. I know this could still lead nowhere and we might find out it really was Irene…"

He moved quickly so that he was kneeling beside her as he placed his hand over hers. "I get it. Trust me."

She gave him a watery smile.

"I'm going to go check into my room and get some sleep. I'll see you later this morning."

Blake's eyes widened. "I pulled you away from Henry's birthday party."

He shook his head. "We were just saying goodbye when you called, so you didn't pull me away."

She took a relieved sigh. "All right. What room are you in?"

"I'm actually in the one next door."

They walked to the door, and after waiting for Blake to close and lock the door, Reid took a deep breath and then made his way to his own room as he hoped he wasn't giving Alex false hope.

Rain hit the roof of the car as Alexa maneuvered her way along the nearly overgrown path leading to a cabin motel that hadn't been used in over fifty years. This one was worse than the last one. As the car jolted over the ruts, a whimper from the backseat had her glancing back to see that Finn was now awake. She needed both hands on the wheel, so instead of reaching back to comfort the baby, she started to hum the lullaby that she always sang to him to put him to sleep at night. When she glanced back a second time, she smiled to see the baby once again sleeping.

Twenty minutes more of rattle-your-teeth bumps, and she had reached her destination. She shuddered as she looked through the rain-drenched night to see the rundown cabin where she would be living for the next three days until she could create a new life for her and her son. Anger that her hand had been forced surfaced briefly, and her hands clenched as the scene played out once again in her mind.

" _Alexa, a Detective Vickers was by today."_

 _She raised a puzzled brow. "Oh? I don't recall meeting him before. Is he new to town?"_

 _Irene shook her head. "No. But he said when he saw you in town that you reminded him of someone from a town not too far away from here."_

 _Her eyes widened. "Really? Huh. What do you know? I guess it's true what they say about everyone having a twin." She looked down at Peter, who was resting in her arms. "I'm going to go put Peter down. It's been a long day. Do you mind if I turn in early?"_

" _No, of course not."_

 _Alexa forced herself to move slowly so as not to arouse suspicion as she left the room. When she entered the nursery, she placed Peter in his crib and then made her way to her room. She already had everything that she would need in the trunk of her car, and now all she had to do was wait until Irene and George were asleep before she carried out her plan._

Alexa swore silently as lighting flashed in front of the car and an exceptionally loud roll of thunder sounded. The sudden wailing from the backseat told her that Peter— _no!_...he was Finn now—Finn was awake. She turned so that she could unbuckle him from the car seat and pull him into the front seat with her.

Caressing his cheek with the back of her hand, she whispered, "It's all right, Finn. Momma's here for her little angel."

It took a little juggling, but she fished a bottle of formula out of the diaper bag and sang to her baby as he drank thirstily from the bottle. By the time he was done, the rain had stopped. She quickly fastened him back into the car seat and carried everything inside. Once that was done, she stood looking out the front door into the night as her plans for where she was going next took shape.

When she closed the door and finally moved away from it, she was unaware that the piece of paper she'd been clutching had fallen to the floor and been whisked away with a gust of wind. Alexa lost no time in taking care of her appearance. Following the directions on the box, she traded her red hair for a dark blonde. Making her way back into her bedroom, she stopped at the mirror and smiled. "Well, hello, Alissa. You look just stunning."

Alexa—no, she had to remember that she was Alissa now—made her way over to the bed and climbed in. She pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around them as she rested her chin on her knees. Looking over at the makeshift crib, she smiled and said, "We will belong, Finn. Soon. You and I will be part of a wonderful family."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

After overhearing what Big Dog had said when they were leaving the park, Stephanie did some calling and managed to get a skirmish set up for Ranger and the guys with one of the best teams in the area. It hadn't taken much convincing. Several of the team members had gotten pinched by Gaspick for speeding when they'd been cruising through Trenton, and they were itching for a way to pay back the department for the laughs the police had had at their expense. Once they'd heard who Ranger and the guys were playing, the pros were all in.

So, here she was, sitting in the passenger seat of the Cayenne, with Mary Lou and Lenny in the backseat, while Ranger led a caravan of shiny black SUVs to an undisclosed location in Pittsburgh. She saw the sign and pointed in that direction as she told Ranger, "Turn in there."

Ranger glanced at her but didn't say anything as he did what she asked. There were several spaces blocked off together, and he pulled into one of the spots as the rest of his team followed suit. It wasn't until they were out of the car and everyone was gathered around that he asked, "All right, Babe. What's going on?"

Stephanie smiled. "Well, I figured if the TPD can arrange a skirmish with the Eagles, then there isn't any reason why we can't do the same with a better team. It's just your luck that Gaspick has been trigger happy with speeding tickets."

Lester shook his head. "Let me get this straight, Beautiful. You got the Pittsburgh Steelers to agree to practice with a bunch of amateurs so that they could get back at the police department? Do they know that Gaspick isn't playing?"

She nodded. "I was completely truthful with them. It's not just him they want to get back at anyway. Seems the rest of the department has been making bets and laughing when one of them get pinched for speeding… Hence their need to get their own back at them. These guys have every intention of making sure that you guys win."

Woody's southern drawl was more pronounced than usual as he said, "Hot damn!"

The rest of the group started smiling.

Just then, Hector stalked toward them carrying one of the helmets. He was speaking in rapid-fire Spanish.

Although Stephanie didn't understand Spanish, she could tell by the expressions on the guys' faces that something was seriously wrong. She went to ask the question, but Ranger leaned down and whispered in her ear, "They're listening in."

Her eyes narrowed. For several beats, she stood there fuming with the rest of them, until an idea came to her and she leaned up to whisper in Ranger's ear. "Why don't we let them hear exactly what's going on?"

Ranger's eyes narrowed as he looked at her, and then the ESP that Stephanie suspected him of having must have kicked in, and he turned to make eye contact with each of the guys. Some sort of silent communication went on between them, and when they gathered their gear together, the helmet with the listening device was with the equipment they carried into the stadium.

While Tank led the rest of the team into the locker room to get ready for the game, Stephanie and Ranger headed for the Steelers' locker room.

There was a guard outside the door, and when they got within five feet of the door, he stepped forward and asked, "Can I help you?"

Stephanie smiled. "I'm Stephanie Plum. I arranged today's game. Would it be possible for us to talk to one of the guys?"

The guard nodded in acknowledgement as he said, "Stay here, and I'll ask one of them to step outside."

He ducked his head into the locker room as he continued to keep an eye on the two before him. "They'd like to talk to one of you before you play."

The door opened wider, and they recognized the quarterback for the team as he stepped into the hallway. "Is something wrong?"

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Trust the police department to try to cheat! We found a listening device in one of the helmets. They'll be able to hear everything that goes on today and plan their plays accordingly."

The man glared. "Figures!" He turned and opened the locker room to yell out at the others, "We're being monitored."

Another player, who was easily recognizable as the team's best running back, stepped out and said, "Why don't we do the do as I do moves and not the as I say?"

Ranger's eyes narrowed. "Instead of the do as I say and not as I do?"

The other two grinned. "Exactly."

Stephanie grinned. Wouldn't the TPD guys be surprised when the play didn't go as planned?

Ranger's eyes narrowed once more as a smile slipped onto his face. "Even better if we mix it up—sometimes do the play as it's supposed to go and sometimes do the opposite—so they don't catch on that we know they've heard our plays."

The player's eyes widened. "Brilliant!" He turned to his teammate and said, "Maybe we should hire him as our tactician."

They all laughed, and as the two Steelers returned to the locker room, Ranger headed back to the room the guys would be using for the day while Stephanie went to meet up with the girls.

Mary Lou, Lula—who had ridden with Tank—and Stephanie headed for the seats behind where their team would be stationed and got situated. It was a cool day, but rather than wearing bulky coats, the girls had decided to wrap up in blankets, just like they had the last time the team practiced. They were nice and cozy as they watched the two teams play. Although the RangeMan crew had made great strides in coming together as a cohesive team, it was obvious that the Steelers were the much better team. Stephanie just hoped they got good enough so that Ranger and his team wouldn't have to dress in drag for the Policeman's Ball. To that end, there were a total of five more games like today's scheduled over the next several weeks so that the guys would have a fighting chance.

 **Alissa York** unbuckled her infant son from his car seat and carried him into the house where she'd be working as a nanny. The Dumonts—Barry and Vanessa—had a six-year-old daughter named Bess.

Vanessa met them as they entered the house. She smiled at Finn as she said, "He's such an adorable baby."

Alissa smiled. "Thank you. He's the spitting image of his father."

Bess stretched up on her toes to look at the baby. "Can I hold him?"

Alissa smiled and said, "Maybe when he's awake." All the while, she was thinking, _There's no way you're touching this baby_.

Bess looked heartbroken, but Vanessa just smiled. "Barry set up a nursery attached to your room for you. Although the furniture is what we used for Bess, we bought unisex items, as we weren't sure whether we were having a boy or a girl."

Alissa smiled. "I'm sure everything will be just perfect."

 **Hotch** stepped out of the lead SUV and moved toward the charred remains of the cabin, where a woman and child matching the description of their Unsub and Peter were reported to have been staying. He glanced at Morgan and Reid as he said, "You two start looking around outside, and we'll take the rubble to see if we can find anything."

Morgan gave a nod and went to work. He could still remember when they'd gotten the call from Reid telling them he thought they had a serial killer on their hands. Leave it to his Baby Girl to find a connection between a bunch of family murder/suicides that were linked to the death of Blake's niece and family.

Twenty minutes of scouring the area, and he paused as something caught his eye. Kneeling down to get a closer look, he moved the dirt covering a piece of paper and lifted it up. Quickly scanning the words written there, his eyes widened as he realized what he had in his hands. Morgan stood as he shouted out, "Hotch!"

Not waiting for his boss to come to him, he started moving toward what remained of the cabin.

Hotch strode anxiously from the house and asked, "What is it?"

"I found a list. You're never going to believe this one."

Hotch took the sheet of paper that Morgan handed him and perused it. He looked up and said, "This ties it all together. I don't recognize these last two names, though. Have Garcia run them and see what she comes up with."

Morgan nodded, then pulled his phone out as he moved off.

"Hey, hot stuff. Can we get dirty, or does this need to be squeaky clean?"

Morgan laughed as a smile spread on his face. "Hey, Baby Girl. I need you to work your magic."

"My fingers are at the ready."

He gave her the list of names, and when he finished, she came back with, "Catch you in a few," and then disconnected the call.

Morgan shook his head as he moved back to join the others, who were now gathered around Hotch. "Garcia said she'd get back to us as soon as she knows anything."

Blake put a hand up to her head. Tears were shimmering in her eyes. "It's just like at Irene's. Why would someone do something like this? To take out entire families? This family had a little girl not much older than Peter." Her voice broke. "What's going to happen to him—if he's really even alive… Or is she planning to leave him behind at some other location?"

Reid awkwardly placed a hand on her shoulder. "We have an Amber alert out, so it's possible someone might recognize Peter if they see him. He's still the same age, and there isn't much you can do to disguise a baby."

Blake smiled wanly. "Unless that's what causes her to harm him."

Everyone was silent for a moment, and then Morgan's phone went off. He fished it out of his pocket, and once the call was connected, he said, "Talk to me, Baby Girl."

"It's bad. The Hostens died in a fire this morning. That brings us to the last name on the list. Lenny and Mary Lou Stankovic. They live in Trenton, New Jersey, with their three children; nine-year-old Kenny, seven-year-old Sarah, and four-year-old Mikey. She continued rattling off information about the family, as Morgan and the rest of the team listened in.

Blake's face took on a determined look. "We have to stop this Unsub from hurting another family."

Hotch looked around at his team. "So far we've been playing catch-up because she's three steps ahead of us. Knowing where the Unsub is going to strike gives us an edge."

Rossi nodded. "We need to get to Trenton and make sure the Stankovics don't wind up the same way as the other families."

Hotch nodded. "I'll call the Trenton PD on the way."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Mary Lou walked anxiously beside her husband as they entered the police station. When Joe had called to tell them he had something important to talk to them about, she'd racked her brain to come up with what that might be. He'd scared her with the way he'd talked. Stephanie had pinpointed it once as having his cop face on, and that's what his tone had reminded her of.

They reached Joe's office, and she looked at Lenny. "I'm not sure I want to go in there."

Lenny put his hand on her back. "It'll be all right, kitten."

Mary Lou blushed at the nickname Lenny had for her and looked surreptitiously around to make sure that no one else was around to overhear.

The door opened, and Joe looked relieved to see them. "There you are. I was starting to worry."

Mary Lou frowned. "Why would you worry? What's going on?"

Joe's gaze scanned the hallway for a split second before he stepped back and motioned them into his office. "Come in. I'll tell you all about it."

Mary Lou took a step into the room and came to a stop. There were several people in the office already, and she could feel goose bumps forming on her skin. The warmth emanating from Lenny as he stopped behind her helped to chase away the chill.

Joe reached out and touched her arm. "This is important. I need you to come inside so we can discuss what's going on."

She moved farther into the room and took one of the two remaining chairs, and as Lenny sat beside her, she reached out for his hand, grasping it like a lifeline.

Joe leaned against the front of his desk, rather than walking around to sit behind it. He took a deep breath and said, "The reason I asked you to come down here today is that we were contacted by these FBI agents." He motioned to each of the others seated around the office. "Special Agents Hotchner, Rossi, Morgan, Blake, Jareau, and Dr. Reid."

Mary Lou shook her head. "Why would the FBI be interested in us?"

Before they could go any further, screams from the hallway were heard, followed by swearing and laughter and more screams. The door to Morelli's office opened, and Big Dog poked his head around the door to say, "She got him. You win."

A small smile spread on Morelli's face before he quickly hid it.

Mary Lou's eyes narrowed. "You bet on Stephanie? Joe Morelli, you are a low-down skunk…"

There was a crash in the hallway and then more screams. With the door open, they could clearly hear the words being spoken. "Help! Keep her away from me! She's gonna kill me!"

Mary Lou stood and rushed for the door. She was panicked about what was going on and had wanted Stephanie to sit in on this meeting with her and Lenny. She was almost in tears when she hadn't been able to get her on the phone by the time they reached the station. If she could have Stephanie with her, then things wouldn't be so bad.

She was in time to see a big, burly giant running down the hall. Stephanie was walking slowly behind him, and every time the giant turned around and saw her closing in, the screaming would start again.

Mary Lou smiled and couldn't wait to hear the story behind this one. Just as quickly as that thought crossed her mind, she was reminded of the reason she was here, and fear took over once again. She began moving down the hall, trying to catch up with Stephanie.

 **Stephanie** pulled her POS Toyota hatchback into the police parking lot and found a spot near the back door. She grimaced as she looked back at Curly. She and Lula had him wrapped in a blanket in the back seat, and he was still out like a light. She'd had to stun him so he'd stop running around his house and shaking his wanger at them. Once he was out, they'd made short work of rolling him onto a blanket and wrapping him like a mummy so they could drag him to the car. It had been hard work, but not quite as hard as wrestling with a dead body.

As she got out of the car, she noticed three shiny black SUVs parked in the lot. Normally seeing that many black cars in one spot was old news, but these vehicles differed slightly from Ranger's.

Lula scowled. "All them shiny black cars, and not one of 'um belongs to Batman. We sure could use one of them fine men to help us get this yahoo into the pokey. That way I could stand guard at the car to make sure no one blows it up."

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "You just don't want to go into the station."

Lula gave her a pensive look. "Well, there's that too."

"Come on. The sooner we get Curly inside, the sooner we can get some lunch."

Lula's eyes brightened at that. "Now you talkin' my language."

Opening the back door, the two grabbed hold of the blanket and tried to pull the occupant out of the car, but he wasn't budging. Stephanie put her hands on her hips and blew her bangs out of the way. After a couple of seconds, she said, "Why don't you climb inside and push, and I'll pull."

"I ain't climbing in that tiny space with winkie man there."

"He's out, and besides, he's covered."

"Makes no never mind ta me. You climb in back with him."

Just then the mountain lying in the back seat started moving around. Curly started blinking rapidly, and his eyes opened to slits. The minute he saw Stephanie, he started squawking like a chicken and trying to get away from her. "No! Don't touch me. No!"

Stephanie put her hands on her hips and glared. "Then get your carcass out of the car so we can go into the police station."

He sat up in a hurry but unbalanced and fell backward, hitting his head on the door as he went down. "Ow! I'm gonna sue!"

"As soon as we get into the station, you can do anything you want to."

Curly shook his head emphatically. "I ain't going, and you can't make me."

Once again, she blew her bangs out of the way, and then she narrowed her eyes as she started to smile. "Hey, Lula. You want to get Myron from the front?"

Curly bolted upright, hitting his head on the roof of the car as he started screaming once again. "No! No! No! Keep that rat away from me!"

Lula's bottom lip protruded. "Myron don't like being called no rat, winkie man. You better 'pologize before he takes a bite outta you."

Curly started rocking his way closer to the door. "I ain't staying in the same car as no rat! Get me outta this metal junkheap."

The whole car started rocking with his motion.

Stephanie yelled, "Stop! You're going to tip the car over if you keep doing that."

Just then a tiny little mouse peeked over from the front seat.

Curly's eyes widened and he started screaming even louder.

Stephanie reached in and scooped up Myron. "All right, Curly, out of the car and get into the station, or I'm going to lock you in there with Myron and walk away."

"No! No! You can do that! That's cruel and inhuman punishment."

She stood there looking at him with raised eyebrows.

"All right, all right. Just keep that rat away and help me out of here, and I'll go into the station with you."

Stephanie got the hamster carrier they'd fashioned from the front and placed Myron inside. She set it on the roof of the car while she and Lula helped Curly out of the backseat. Once he was standing on his own, she retrieved the carrier and motioned toward the building. "All right, Curly. Get moving. As you can see, Myron is anxious to make sure you stick to your word."

Curly grabbed the sheet and started shuffling across the parking lot. They got about three feet when he tried to make a break for it, but Stephanie had anticipated his action. She took Myron from the little mesh container and tossed him so that he landed on Curly. The man started yelling like a banshee as he made a beeline for the station.

Lula opened the door, and Curly nearly fell inside but managed to keep his legs under him. His screams echoed inside the police station to the point that both of the women had their hands over their ears.

Stephanie rolled her eyes at all the laughing faces of the police officers in the station as she thought to herself that she'd be hearing from her mother in less than sixty seconds. They'd just stopped at the desk when Mary Lou came running up to her and grabbed her arm.

She frowned as she studied the look on Mary Lou's face. It made all the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. She forgot all about the skip and asked, "What's wrong?"

Mary Lou did a palms-up gesture. "Not sure. But Joe called to ask us to come down to the station. I tried to reach you, but I kept getting voice mail." She shook her head. "Actually, Steph, I'd like it if you'd come with me to Joe's office. He didn't sound like himself when he called us, and I'm kind of scared."

Stephanie put her hand on Mary Lou's arm. "Hold on a minute." She turned to Robyn. "Here's the paperwork. The little critter is Myron, and he's been traumatized a bit by all of Curly's screaming."

Robyn took a step back. "If it's all the same, Steph, I'd rather not."

Steph laughed as she set the container on the counter. "In case you change your mind. Oh, and you really have to watch the little guy. He's an escape artist." She turned to Mary Lou. "Come on, Mare. Let's find out what's going on."

As she walked with her best friend back to Joe's office, she fished out her phone and sent a text before replacing the phone in her bag.

 **Hotch** looked at Detective Morelli before glancing at the members of his team. "We need to get this handled as quickly as possible. Can you go and ask Mrs. Stankovic to come back so that we can get started?"

Lenny shook his head. "She'll be back in a few minutes. She probably just went to ask Stephanie to join us."

Hotch shook his head. "I'm afraid that won't be possible. The fewer people who know about this, the better."

Lenny shrugged. "You can tell her, but I don't think she'll agree with you."

Hotch frowned as he turned to Morelli.

Joe winced as he straightened. "I'm going." As he neared the door, he mumbled, "But I'll be back with two."

Hotch looked over to Rossi as Morelli left. "Not what I was expecting. I get the impression we aren't being taken seriously."

Moments later, the door opened, and Detective Morelli waited for two women to enter the room before joining them. The first was Mrs. Stankovic, and the other was unknown to them at this point.

Hotch's frown grew as the detective they were going to be working with on this case said, "You can take my chair, Cupcake. I'll use the desk."

Hotch shook his head. "I'm afraid I must insist that this woman leave. Detective, you know why we're here. This is a delicate matter, and as I said before, the fewer people who know about this the better."

Mary Lou shook her head. "Stephanie is my best friend. She stays."

Special Agent Jareau sat forward in her chair and smiled softly. "I can appreciate that you must be scared, not knowing why you've been called down here. But this is a matter for the police and FBI. As much as you want your friend here, it's better for all parties that she not be involved."

Hotch turned to the woman seated behind the desk. "I really must insist that you leave. This is a delicate conversation that needs to take place between the Stankovics and us. I'm sure there are other things that need your attention."

She rolled her eyes. "Mare asked me to sit in on this discussion. I'm staying."

Hotch narrowed his eyes. "You do realize that I can arrest you for interfering in a federal investigation, don't you?"

She glanced at her watch and smiled as she looked back up at him. "I can't say getting arrested would be my first choice."

A voice from the doorway broke in to say, "Gee, Beautiful, you still don't know how to have fun."

Hotch felt his frustration growing. He stood swiftly and said, "You'll have to go. We're running out of time, and it's vital that we have this discussion while there is still a window of opportunity to put a plan in motion."

The man who had spoken entered the room, followed by another. The second man's face was blank as he scanned the room. He paused a fraction of a second when he reached the woman seated behind the desk. Without a word, he moved in her direction.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Special Agent Derek Morgan leaned forward in his chair, resting his forearms on his legs with his hands steepled. "Look. I get you. You're worried about your friends, and you'd do anything to make sure they're okay. You need to trust us to know the best way to deal with this situation."

His gaze moved over the three newcomers before resting on the woman. Somehow, he got the impression that if he could make her understand and leave, the two men would follow suit. He had just opened his mouth to add something when Hotch frowned and stood, moving away from the group slightly as he lifted his phone to his ear.

Derek moved his gaze back to the newcomers.

The brunette behind the desk looked up at the man standing at her side. At a barely discernable nod, she sat forward to rest her arms on the desk as she let her gaze move over them. "You're not from around here, so you aren't familiar with how our community works."

Derek shook his head. "I imagine this community is much like every other one where we've worked a case…"

He was interrupted by Hotch saying, "Detective Morelli, I've been informed that we're to delay the meeting with the Stankovics until representatives from RangeMan can get here. If there is someplace where my team can wait?"

Derek's eyes narrowed as he saw the smirk on the detective's face.

Morelli shook his head. "No need to wait. They're already here."

Hotch looked at the group behind the desk. "I take that to mean that you're the people we're waiting on?"

The woman in the chair smiled as she held up one of her hands and gave a finger wave. "I'm Stephanie Plum," She placed a hand on the arm of the man standing beside her and continued, "This is Ranger Manoso, owner of RangeMan Security Ltd, and one of his team, Lester Santos."

Hotch nodded, then turned to the room at large. "This is my team. They've already been introduced by Detective Morelli, but since you weren't in the room…" Hotch pointed to Rossi and then the rest of the team, introducing them all. I'm Special Agent Hotchner. The reason we're here, why we've asked the Stankovics to meet with us—" he turned to look at the couple "—is that their name was on the bottom of a list. It's our belief that they're the targets of a serial killer. We've asked them down here so that we can make arrangements for their safety while we look for the killer."

Although Hotch gave every outward appearance of politeness, having worked with the man for years, Derek knew just how frustrated he really was. The reaction of the people in the room, other than the look of horror on Mrs. Stankovic's face and the appearance of concern from Ms. Plum, seemed off. He got the impression that no one here was taking things seriously, and it was pissing him off.

 **Stephanie** looked at Mary Lou with concern and noticed how pale her friend was. She could see the panic that she was trying to hold on to and wasn't having much success. As testament to just how upset she was, Mary Lou's chin was wobbling, and that was something Stephanie had never seen her do.

Lenny reached out, pulled his wife into his arms, and wrapped her in a bear hug as he whispered in her ear.

Mary Lou nodded.

Lenny looked over at her. "She's worried about the kids. They're at your mom's house."

Stephanie didn't have to look to know that Ranger had just pulled out his cell phone and sent a text, letting RangeMan know to send a man to her parents'. Her gaze went to the team in the room with them as thoughts raced through her head.

Ranger placed a hand on her shoulder as he shifted beside her. "What do you know about the suspect?"

Dr. Reid stepped forward. "We know that the Unsub we're looking for is a woman in her late twenties to early thirties. She ingratiates herself with the family somehow and works from within to split the family up. Her normal mode of operandi is to not leave any survivors. She did however break with that when she took an infant with her several weeks ago. Whether she still has the infant or if she's disposed of him somehow, either by selling him for cash to fund her getaways or as a needed body in one of the fires she's set still has to be determined."

Mary Lou cried out and turned her face into Lenny's chest. He did his best to comfort her.

Agent Blake's eyes closed as a shudder racked her body. When she opened them, she smiled wanly. "The baby, Peter, is five months old now. We've been looking for this woman for the past two months and have always been three steps behind. That is, until we found a slip of paper with several names on it. You are the only family on the list still alive." Her tone gentled. "I can't imagine how you must be feeling… All these strangers coming here and telling you that your family is in danger. I can assure you that no one wants this monster caught more than I do. You see, Peter is my great-nephew. His mother was my niece. She meant the world to me, and I won't rest until I see her killer pay for her crimes."

Mary Lou nodded, then turned to Stephanie and Ranger. "Lenny and I can't afford much…"

She got no further before Ranger lifted a hand to stop her. "Your family is already under protection. There are some things that have no price."

Stephanie leaned her head against his arm for a second before she looked up. "We could get my parents to take the kids to Disney World. That way we'd know that they were well taken care of. You could have the team in Miami do security."

Ranger gave a slight nod. "I can have Eric fly them down as soon as they're packed and ready to go."

Stephanie turned to Mary Lou. "Would that be okay with you two?"

Mary Lou sagged with relief. "Yes! At least I would know that my babies were okay."

Agent Hotchner cleared his throat. "That would be helpful if the children were out of the picture. Perhaps I or one of my team could stay with you until we catch the Unsub?"

Mary Lou nodded. "If you don't mind using one of the children's rooms."

He smiled. "That would be fine." He turned to Agent Rossi. "Rossi, why don't you stay with the family, and the rest of us will see what we can find in the way of a hotel or motel."

Stephanie's eyes widened. "That's not a good idea."

Agent Hotchner turned to her with a frown. "Why is that?"

"The motels and hotels here don't get this many visitors on normal days. It would be better if we could farm all of you out with families. That way we can explain away your appearance as coincidence."

He frowned. "I'd rather not bring any more people into this."

Stephanie shook her head. "It doesn't matter if you want them involved or not. Everyone in the 'Burg already knows you're here, and by tonight they'll know where you're staying and how long you'll be in town for." Her gaze moved to Agents Morgan and Jareau. "And some of them will know what kind of underwear you're wearing."

Agent Hotchner's face grew stern, and he said firmly, "Ms. Plum, that's really not—"

She shook her head. "Call me Stephanie or Steph. We're not long on formalities around here. I don't mean any disrespect. It's just how things are here."

"Then perhaps it would be better if we stayed a little farther out."

Stephanie shrugged. "It's your call, but if you allow me to place you with families, you'll have more freedom than if you're a stranger visiting our city."

"What do you mean?"

"If you're members of the family here visiting, then no one will question your comings and goings."

Agent Hotchner looked at his team, as if he was deciding on the merits of what she'd just told him. "I have to say that I'm not in favor of adding more people into our little circle of people in the know. However, what you've said does make some sense. What would you suggest?"

Stephanie studied the group for several seconds and then lifted her gaze to meet Agent Hotchner's. "Do you have another woman available to partner Agent Morgan?"

Agent Morgan's eyes momentarily widened. "JJ can partner me."

Stephanie shook her head. "No one would believe that she's three months pregnant."

Several pairs of eyes were suddenly staring at her.

She shrugged. "With my parents out of town with Mary Lou and Lenny's children, two people can stay with my Grandma Mazur. The only thing is, the couple that comes to mind is my cousin and her husband."

The team studied each other, and then Agent Morgan shifted. "We could ask Garcia to play the part."

Agent Hotchner nodded. "I'll give her a call." He turned to Stephanie. "What are your suggestions for where the rest of us should stay?"

Stephanie pursed her lips. "Well, you've already arranged for Agent Rossi to stay with Mary Lou and Lenny." She looked at Joe. "Can you ask Robyn if Agent Jareau can stay with her?"

Joe nodded. "I'll ask her. Agent Hotchner can stay with me."

Stephanie nodded. "That leaves Agent Blake and Dr. Reid." She gazed at Ranger. "Can they stay in one of the safe houses? We could say they're visiting Hal. He's been telling everyone that his aunt's going to be coming for a visit soon."

"I'll give him a call and let him know. That way he can make sure his aunt doesn't come until after all of this is over."

She turned back to the group. "Now that that's all settled, let's get down to planning how to stop this woman from carrying out her plan."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

As they were walking out of the police station two hours later, Stephanie turned to Ranger and said, "You got here faster than I expected."

Ranger gave her his million-dollar smile and said, "Tank called as soon as your tracker showed you were at the police station. Lester and I were just leaving a client a couple of blocks from here."

Stephanie glanced at where her car had been parked and rolled her eyes. "She stayed longer than I thought she would."

Ranger threw his arm around her shoulder and pulled her to him so that he could kiss the top of her head. "Are we ready to get this show started?"

Stephanie nodded and then turned to Mary Lou and Lenny, who were walking behind them with Joe bringing up the rear. Making sure her voice was loud enough to carry so that the onlookers watching would get the impression they wanted to convey, she said, "All right, Morelli. No more trying to cheat. Lenny's our coach, and you can't poach him, so don't be trying it again."

Joe laughed. "You can't blame a guy for trying."

Stephanie put her hands on her hips and glared. "I _can_ blame you for trying to cheat. You guys must really be scared if you're sinking to this level in order to win a football game."

"Well, your team bought all of the practice spots, so we can't get any playing in to perfect our game before the big day."

Stephanie made her eyes go wide. "Ranger was performing a community service. The school was in financial straits, and he just offered them a way to be able to operate in the black again."

Joe scoffed. "Yeah, right. And you have a bridge in Brooklyn you're willing to sell me too, I'll bet."

A glance at the smiles on the onlookers told Stephanie that everyone was buying what they were saying. She grinned at Joe and said, "Not me. My property is in Florida."

Joe gave her a wry look and said, "This ain't over, Cupcake."

Stephanie turned to Mary Lou. "Are you and Lenny going to pick up the kids?"

Mary Lou shook her head. "We're going home to pack them some things. When we dropped them off at your parents', they asked if they could take them to Disney World with them. Seems they are taking Val and her kids and thought it would be more fun if the kids had someone to play with."

Stephanie looked disgruntled. "They didn't tell me they were going to Disney World. Why wasn't I invited?"

Joe laughed and said, "Maybe they didn't want to chance any explosions or scandals."

Stephanie whirled on Joe, once again glaring. "Watch it, Morelli."

Joe's eyes widened and he put his hands in the air. "Just telling it like it is."

Ranger cupped the back of her neck with his hand. "Don't let him get to you, Babe. I'll take you to Disney World anytime you want to go."

Stephanie stuck her tongue out at Joe and then turned to smile up at Ranger. "Do you mind if we stop by my folks'? If they're going to be away for a while, I need to find out if I'm on Grandma detail or if she's going with."

Ranger nodded.

Stephanie turned back to Mary Lou. "Meet you there, Mare."

Mary Lou grinned. "We won't be long."

As she watched the two get into their vehicle, Stephanie noticed there was a black SUV sitting at the curb. When Lenny pulled his vehicle out into traffic, Cal pulled out behind them.

She once again turned to Ranger and whispered, "Thank you."

Ranger bent his head slightly to her and said, "No price."

She leaned her face up to him, and their lips met for a brief second before they broke apart and continued on to the Cayenne.

When Ranger opened the front passenger door for her, she climbed in. He paused a moment, and she knew that he was scanning their surroundings and categorizing everything. His gaze flicked back to her. "Are you sure you're okay with your grandma staying?"

Stephanie thought about it for a minute before answering. "It's not my first choice, but she's able to get information we might need before this is over."

Ranger gave a brief nod. "Lester, you're on granny duty."

Lester groaned. "That wouldn't be my first choice of assignments, boss."

Ranger nodded. "I can always assign you to the monitors midnight shift for the next three months."

"Suddenly granny duty isn't sounding so bad."

Stephanie laughed.

Ranger shut her door and moved around to take his place behind the wheel. It only took him about five minutes to make it to the Plum's house in Chambersburg, better known as the 'Burg. The trio made their way to the front door, where Stephanie's mom and grandma were standing with the door opened, waiting for them.

The group moved into the living room, where Frank Plum was seated watching the noon addition of the news. He looked up and smiled at Stephanie. "So, what's this about your mother and me taking a trip to Disney World with Mary Lou and Lenny's kids along with Val and her family?"

Stephanie glanced around.

As if he knew what she was looking for, Frank said, "The kids are outside playing with Hector. He figured that you and Ranger would need to speak to us in private when you got here."

Stephanie sat down on the sofa, and Ranger sank down beside her. She took a deep breath and spoke softly so as not to be overheard just in case. "There's someone targeting Mary Lou and her family. The FBI is in town looking for the woman. She's murdered several other families, and in order to offer the agents cover so they can do their job, we're placing them at various locations around Trenton."

Helen put her hand to her chest. "Poor Mary Lou. She must be beside herself."

"She'll feel a lot better knowing the children are safe with you in Florida instead of in harm's way here."

Helen bobbed her head. "Of course. I called Val, and they're thrilled with the chance to return to Disney World. What about your grandmother, though?"

"I ain't no ninny who can't take care of herself, Helen. I'll be fine while you're in Florida."

Helen rolled her eyes and gave Stephanie a pointed look. "I'm holding you responsible for your grandmother's actions while we're gone."

"Well, about that." Stephanie turned to her grandmother. "There are a couple of agents who will be staying here. I thought they could pass as relatives. You remember the cousin who's three months pregnant?"

Grandma moved her dentures around in her mouth. "When will they be here?"

Stephanie glanced at her watch. "Ranger's arranged for several of his men to visit the station, and some of the agents will be swapping places with them so that we can place them where we want them. The two who will be staying here will be arriving by taxi later today."

Edna Mazur rubbed her hands together. "Let the games begin."

Helen glared at her mother. "I expect you to be on your best behavior, Mother. I don't want a bunch of phone calls telling me you're terrorizing the neighborhood while we're gone."

Edna gave her daughter a disgusted look. "You never want me to have any fun." She turned to Stephanie. "Did you set anyone up in your old apartment?"

Stephanie shook her head. "I didn't want to take the chance someone might think I'd gone back to the apartment and blow it up along with the agents staying there."

Edna nodded. "Smart move."

Stephanie gave her grandma a look. "Lester will be keeping tabs on you in case you run into problems. We need you spreading the stories that we want circulating."

Edna beamed. "I love getting in on the action." She turned to Lester. "If you're keeping tabs on me, sonny, you best keep up. I don't want you slowing me down."

Lester's eyes widened, and from the twinkle in his eyes, it was obvious that he was holding in whatever comment he wanted to make.

Helen stood. "Mary Lou and Lenny are here." She moved to the doorway and stopped to look back at the room. "I'm just glad that she brought the children here since her parents—Alice and John—had to go and take care of Alice's mother. We're much better equipped to handle this kind of thing."

Stephanie's eyes widened as her mother left the room. She turned to her father. "Was that a dig?"

Frank chuckled. "Not at all, pumpkin. Your mother just meant that we're used to dealing with situations like this. John and Alice wouldn't know how to handle it."

She sat back, mollified for the moment.

Mary Lou and Lenny entered the room followed by Helen. They took their seats before Mary Lou breathed deeply and then looked at Frank and Helen as she said, "I really appreciate your willingness to help us like this."

Helen patted Mary Lou's knee. "You're like one of the family. Of course we're willing to help. Don't you worry about your children. We'll take good care of them."

Just then, the sound of running feet could be heard, and a moment later, the three children were hugging their parents. Sarah asked with a sense of awe, "Is it true we get to go with Mr. and Mrs. Plum to Disney World?"

Mary Lou forced a happy smile and said, "Yes! And I want all three of you on your best behavior."

Mikey nodded. "We best, Momma."

Tears pooled in Mary Lou's eyes as she hugged the children to her for several seconds before releasing them. Her whispered "I know you will" was all that was said.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Derek Morgan stood waiting for the passengers to disembark. He smiled the minute he saw Garcia step into the terminal and raised his hand to let her know he was there waiting for her. All they needed to do now was to head to baggage claim and get her things so they could be on their way.

It had been an interesting ride. An employee from RangeMan had come into the police station and offered him a hooded jacket with their logo on it for him to wear. Once he'd donned the jacket, he'd followed the guy, who'd introduced himself as Manny, to an SUV parked in the parking lot. From there, they'd driven to the Newark airport, where Derek was going to wait for Garcia's plane, and then they'd take a cab from the airport back to Trenton. As Derek had climbed out of the truck, Manny had called to him and then handed him a piece of paper with an address on it.

Morgan had looked at the man questioningly until he'd told him that was the address to give the cabbie.

Garcia hurried over to where Derek was standing, and as she reached him, she leaned forward and said, "I can't do this, Derek."

Derek couldn't help but place his hand on her shoulder as he smiled reassuringly at her. "Sure you can, Baby Girl. We'll just pretend like we're in the office, and no one will know any different."

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

He could see the panic on her face and knew there was only one way to assure her that they could indeed do this. He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. "There. All better? See, Baby Girl? All we have to do is be ourselves."

Penelope froze for an instant, her eyes wide, and then she nodded. "All right." She paused as she looked at him for several seconds, and then she asked, "This isn't going to mess up our friendship, is it?"

Derek took her in his arms and hugged her close. "Nothing could spoil our friendship."

She melted into him, and he felt a tear fall on his chest.

Derek leaned back and studied her. "You're really worried about this, aren't you?"

"I just don't want to ruin our friendship. And I don't know the first thing about pretending to be pregnant."

He smiled at her as he brushed the hair back from her face. "That will never happen, Baby Girl." Making sure he held her gaze, he winked. "And, don't forget, I've seen you act, remember? You got this. I know you do."

Morgan grabbed the bags, and the two of them moved through the terminal to where the cabs were waiting out front.

 **Hotch** climbed into the Jeep Cherokee and buckled up as Detective Morelli slipped into the driver's seat. Although he was leery of having so many civilians in on what the team was trying to do, the day seemed to have gone off without a hitch.

Once Morgan had left with Manny, another RangeMan employee had come in and taken Rossi to the bus station, where he would be picked up by the Stankovics as soon as they said goodbye to their children. They'd no more than left then someone else was there to pick up Blake and Reid. It all sounded a bit clandestine, but as long as they could pull this off and catch the Unsub, he was willing to put up with a bunch of subterfuge.

The only placements that really made sense was JJ's going with the female police officer, Robyn, and his own situation with Detective Morelli. Their cover story was that they were from a sister agency here working on a case in tandem with the Trenton Police Department.

It wasn't until three days later that he was willing to admit that the Plum woman knew what she was talking about when she convinced them to go along with this. The community had readily accepted their presence and they were able to ask questions without drawing unwanted attention to their reasons for doing so.

The only drawback was that the entire team hadn't been able to meet publicly because they weren't supposed to know each other. Although they had used Face-Time, Skyped on their computers, and been able to get two or three people together within the community, it wasn't the same. This morning when he'd suggested to Detective Morelli—who'd asked him to call him Joe—that he needed to touch base with his team, Joe had suggested he contact the others for a get-together at Pino's.

The smell of pizza cooking was thick in the air as they exited the Jeep Cherokee. When they walked into the building, Hotch could see that several members of his team were already here, interspersed with a large number of civilians.

Joe raised his hand in greeting and headed toward the booths in the back where the Stankovics were seated with Morgan, Garcia, and the RangeMan people they'd met, as well as a few others.

JJ stepped up beside him and whispered, "I wasn't expecting this many people knowing about what we're doing here."

Hotch's face was stern as he gave a nod. "This has the potential to blow up in our faces."

JJ nodded as they followed Joe to the back corner of the restaurant.

 **Stephanie** looked around Pino's, trying to place what was making her feel as if she'd touched a live wire. She'd had this same feeling for two days now—like someone was watching her. She strongly hoped that she hadn't picked up another stalker. That was a complication they didn't need right now.

A warm arm wrapped around her shoulders, and she leaned into Ranger—who was seated beside her—as she focused on the couple opposite them. Derek and Penelope, as she'd come to know them, had been thrown into the deep end, dealing with Grandma Mazur.

Since the two were supposed to be family, it was natural that they would go with Grandma when she went out. That was one of the reasons Stephanie had suggested the placement. Of course, she probably should have warned the two about her grandma's unusual penchants for getting into mischief.

Stephanie smiled as she recalled the phone call she'd received from Lester the day before. There was a viewing for Lucile Fishbinder—one of Grandma Mazur's staunch competitors for the elderly gentlemen population—at the funeral parlor. From what Lester had said, Dave and Scooter had gone into meltdown the moment her grandma walked into the place.

Derek and Penelope had gone with her, mainly so that Grandma Mazur could introduce them as members of the family and put their cover into place. They had no idea what they'd signed on for.

When Lester had seen Stephanie's Grandma moving the dentures around in her mouth, in her getting-ready-for-battle stance, he'd sent an SOS to Steph's cell, and by the time she walked in, her grandma was already at the casket.

 _Stephanie walked into the funeral home, and Dave's eyes widened. She looked to see what he was looking at and saw that Grandma Mazur was at the casket, surreptitiously looking around as if to see if anyone was paying attention to what she was doing._

 _The casket was closed, and knowing her grandmother's penchant for needing to see the body no matter what condition it was in, Stephanie knew what was coming next. Sure enough, there was a creak as the casket's lid was lifted._

 _A screech from the back of the room drew everyone's attention in that direction, and Grandma Mazur used their distraction to her advantage and worked at the lock that was keeping the lid from fully opening._

 _Dave moved in panic mode to head off Grandma Mazur, and a human tornado in the form of Mildrid Eifflestein came barreling toward her as well._

 _Lester moved to place himself in the line of fire, taking his role of her grandmother's protector seriously, no matter what the danger was._

 _Mildrid reached Lester and kept right on going, knocking him on his ass as she made a bid to get a hold of Steph's grandma._

 _Grandma Mazur's eyes narrowed when she saw Lester go down, and she swung her purse in Mildred's direction, taking out Dave in the process._

 _Derek and Penelope gave the appearance of deer caught in the headlights for several seconds, and then Derek moved Penelope out of the line of fire and stepped in to try to corral the two ladies._

 _Mildrid pulled back her arm in preparation to cold-cock Grandma Mazur and caught Derek in the stomach, and he doubled over as he tried to get air back into his lungs._

 _Stephanie pulled out her stun gun, zapped Mildrid, and then turned to her grandma. "Let's get out of here."_

 _Grandma Mazur lifted her chin in the air. "I was just showing Penelope and Derek around."_

" _That's fine, but I don't think we should be here when Mildrid wakes up."_

 _Grandma Mazur frowned in consternation. "Don't know why they have to put locks on the lids. The body's dead… They aren't going to know any different."_

 _Stephanie grabbed her grandma's arm and moved toward the exit._

A hand waving in the air caught Stephanie's attention, and she looked in that direction to see Joe Morelli making his way toward them with the leader of the team they were helping out.

Stephanie made the round of introductions, being sure her voice was loud enough for the onlookers to hear as she gave everyone their cover story. Once she was finished, Joe introduced the two agents with him and their reason for being in the area. Judging by the number of phones out and the sound of cameras clicking, the story would be completely around the 'Burg within two minutes.

Debbie—Pino's best daytime waitress—came over and asked if they needed more chairs. Stephanie looked to Joe. At his nod, she smiled up at Debbie and said, "More chairs would be great." She turned to Joe and scowled. "But no trying to poach Lenny. He's spoken for."

Joe grinned. "If you say so, Cupcake."

 **Lisa Brown** looked around Pino's. She hadn't been back here since high school graduation. The place hadn't changed all that much—maybe a bit more rundown than it had been then, but for the most part, everything was still the same. She'd gone to a lot of trouble contacting old friends who were still in the area to let them know she was coming back for a visit. Normally she didn't want people knowing her whereabouts, but she needed a way to get close to Lenny, and this was her ticket to his inner circle.

She perused the menu, and just as she set it down to signal the waitress that she was ready to order, Mary Lou Molnar and Lenny Stankovic walked into the restaurant, followed by an older man somewhere close to fifty.

Her eyes narrowed in displeasure as she saw the way Lenny paid attention to Mary Lou. What was she doing with him? Surely he'd grown tired of her antics and ditched her by now. Lisa gritted her teeth as Lenny put a hand on Mary Lou's shoulder and directed her to the back corner of Pino's, where some other people were sitting.

Lisa's eyes widened before she quickly hooded them as she saw Stephanie Plum seated in the booth. Damn it! She definitely didn't need _her_ nosing around.

The sound of a baby crying drew her attention back to the baby carrier next to her. She folded the blanket back so that she could see Fiona's face. The baby blinked owlishly up at her, and she smiled, thinking to herself that no one would be the wiser with the way she had the baby dressed. She didn't worry about harming the child's self-esteem. He was too young to even remember any of this.

Lisa looked up as more people entered the place. Her breath caught as she recognized Joe Morelli. Now there was a man she wouldn't mind tangling the sheets with…if he'd ever looked her way. She turned back to Stephanie and glared. Too bad he was more interested in getting into Stephanie's pants than looking for a real woman.

She caught the last part of what Mary Lou was saying, and she straightened in her seat a bit as she frowned. Rage filled her suddenly as she saw all of her plans of getting Lenny for herself going up in smoke.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Conversation over lunch was lighthearted. Everyone made a production of further establishing their cover story for the diners around them. Throughout the meal, members of the police force dropped in and would stop by the table to be introduced. Along with the louder portions of the conversation that they wanted everyone to hear, there were also quieter moments that only the members of the group were privy to. That was when Hotch and the team talked over what they'd discovered so far as well as planned on how to proceed from this point.

They were reaching the ninety-minute mark when conversation started winding down. Reid had taken note of all the people who had come and gone as he compared them to what they knew of the Unsub. There had been three women with infants the approximate size that Peter would be at five months of age. The only drawback was that each of them had an infant daughter. Furthermore, of those three women, two of them had spent an inordinate amount of time looking in their direction. While that might not seem significant, the same two women hadn't even glanced in their direction until they'd been joined by the Stankovics.

Taking out his phone as if he'd just received a call or text, Reid lifted the phone and interrupted the conversation going on around him to say, "Hal, your mom wants to know how everything is going and if you're doing a good job of showing us around." As he spoke, he took several photos, which he would send to Garcia so she could work her magic.

Hal shook his head. "And did you tell her that I've excelled at showing you around and making sure that you have everything you need?"

Reid smiled as he finished sending the photos and lowered his phone. "Actually, I told her that we haven't seen much of you but we've been finding our own way about town just fine."

Hal slapped his hand on the table. "What! Reid, that was just plain mean. You know my mom…" He was interrupted by the chirp of a phone, and he glared at Reid before taking his phone out and lifting it to his ear. "Hello, Mom." He paused before adding, "He was pulling your leg, Mom. I've been doing a great job of showing them around." Another pause, and then he sighed before adding, "Yes, ma'am. I will."

Hal replaced his phone and grumbled, "You know what they say about paybacks, Reid."

Reid smiled. "Bring it on."

There was laughter, and he turned to look at the others. Morgan was grinning ear to ear and there was a suspicious twinkle in his eyes. Suddenly, Reid had an inkling he'd made a tactical error in issuing his challenge. Morgan was exceptionally good at getting him, like the time he'd given Reid's number out to the press and it was aired so that Reid got numerous calls from civilians. Of course, Reid had gotten him back by reprogramming Morgan's MP3 player and phone so that Morgan got him screaming into them.

Morgan turned to Hal. "I have some ideas on that, Hal."

Hal slowly smiled. "Good. Between the two of us, we'll have the kid screaming uncle in no time."

Reid's eyes widened. "Kid? I'm thirty years old! That hardly makes me a kid."

Hal shook his head. "Thirty? I always thought you were younger."

Reid felt as if someone was watching him and turned to see one of the women he'd snapped a picture of staring in their direction. The second she saw him looking her way, her eyes darted away, but he recognized something in her gaze the moment before she turned. Looking back in the direction of his team, he noticed that Stephanie had a frown on her face and was peering in the woman's direction as well.

He leaned in to the table and softly asked, "Do you know who that is?"

Stephanie shook her head. "Not at the moment. She seems familiar somehow, though."

The door jangled, and all eyes swung to the entrance. A woman who'd been introduced to the group as Lula barreled inside, and she looked around frantically before making a beeline in their direction. She came to a stop beside the table and took several seconds to get her breathing back under control.

"Steph…" She took a deep breath and opened her mouth to say something else, when the door flung open once more and a big, burly man with curly red hair stormed into the restaurant.

"Where is she?"

Several men stood all at once with their weapons out and trained on the newcomer. He disregarded them, and in the next instant, his gaze locked on their table and he moved forward with his hands balled into fists, a creepy smile on his face. "There she is. Surrounded by her lapdogs."

Reid felt his heartrate increase like when they were on a case and chasing an Unsub. He wished that he had his weapon out in the open and easy to access, but that wasn't possible for the cover he was using. He knew that JJ, Hotch, and Morgan all had their weapons and would offer some protection, but he hated being this exposed.

The mountain rammed into their table and came to a stop. "I got a bone to pick with you, Plum."

Ranger and Lester were on either side of the man, and he moved his arm as if to swat them away. Ranger used the guy's momentum to grab his arm and swing him around, and within a matter of seconds, the giant's hands were cuffed behind his back.

Two uniformed police officers that had been introduced to them as Carl and Big Dog moved over to take the man into custody.

The giant tried to dodge them, but Ranger placed his hand on the back of the man's neck, and in the next instant, he was on the ground, out cold.

Carl gave a deep sigh. "Too bad you couldn't have just walked him out to the squad car before putting the Vulcan Death Grip on the guy. He weighs close to three hundred and fifty pounds. Do you have any idea what dragging that kind of dead weight is like?"

The corner of Ranger's mouth moved a fraction of an inch before he called out, "Junior. You want to help these officers with their burden?"

One of the men standing holstered his weapon and moved over to where the giant was resting. He reached down and placed one hand between the inert form's handcuffed arms, grabbed one leg, swung the giant up into a fireman's carry, and made his way to the door. When he got there, he turned and asked, "Are you two coming?"

Carl and Big Dog closed their mouths and slowly made their way in that direction. As they walked away, Reid heard Big Dog whisper, "I sure hope he's not going to be on RangeMan's team when we play football."

A nod from Carl was his only response.

 **Betsy Gooley** frowned at her sister. "Grace, who are all of those guys with guns?"

Grace smiled. "Don't worry about them, Betsy. The guy who took the other one down is Ranger. He's the owner of RangeMan Securities, and he and Stephanie Plum are a couple."

"I don't recognize any of them."

"You wouldn't. They moved in a few years ago, after you went to UCLA on the cheerleading scholarship."

At the mention of her scholarship, Betsy frowned. She didn't like remembering those days. She looked around the room, and her eyes landed on Lisa Brown, one of her classmates. The two had been arch rivals from day one, when both of them wanted the same guy.

Betsy turned her attention back to the group in the back. "I see Mary Lou is still stuck to Lenny's side."

Grace laughed. "She has every right to be. They're married. I'm sure I wrote to you about that. They have three children."

Betsy glared. "Yes. You wrote me about that. I guess I just thought he would have come to his senses by now. After all, you know that I almost broke them up in high school."

Grace's eyebrows rose. "No. I never knew that." She frowned. "I don't see how you could have, Betsy. They've been a solid twosome since third grade."

Betsy's cheek turned pink. Her eyes narrowing dangerously as she demanded, "Are you calling me a liar?"

Grace shook her head. "No… I just don't recall any time where they weren't as into each other as I thought."

The sound of a baby crying had her looking into the carrier beside her. She let the corner of her mouth tilt slightly as she saw that Paulina was still sleeping soundly. Her head lifted quickly as Grace moved to get a better look at the baby. Betsy's voice was sharp as she demanded, "What are you doing?"

Grace looked at her as if she'd grown a second head. "I was just trying to get a better look at my niece. I don't know why you never told us that you had her."

Betsy put a protective hand on the baby as she replied, "Sorry. I just didn't want to hear a lecture about having a child without being married."

The baby started moving restlessly, as if preparing to wake up.

Grace smiled. "Oh, good. She's waking up. Maybe I'll finally get a chance to hold her."

 _Not if I can help it_ , was all that Betsy could think.

 **Laurie Deckman** grabbed a bottle from the diaper bag and popped the nipple into F…ran's mouth. A quick glance around told her that they hadn't drawn any undue attention. She was close to her goal, and she didn't want to chance blowing it now. It had taken her months to get to this point.

As the baby drank thirstily from the bottle, she let her gaze roam around the room. He was here…but the woman beside him wasn't what she was expecting. Laurie frowned. The woman looked like a girl-next-door type. That couldn't be right. Football players always went for the cheerleader type.

She decided that she'd think about that later. For now, seeing her target was all that was important. He was an average-looking guy, and the attention he gave to the woman beside him spoke of young lovers, not an old married couple.

Strange… There were a lot of things about this couple that didn't add up.

A whimper had her turning back to F— _No_! Fran! She had to get it right. She couldn't let anyone suspect anything.

Just then, the group she was watching started breaking up as people went on about their business. Laurie hurried to finish up. She had work to do.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Stephanie saw Mary Lou stand and wave as she and Lula made their way over to the stands, where they were going to watch the guys practice for the game that was looming. She'd stopped by her parents' house to pick up Derek—it still felt weird calling the agents by the names they were used to, but since they needed to give the appearance of familiarity, it was important to get this right—and Penelope so they would be able to get together with Rossi, Blake, and Reid.

Derek leaned in and kissed Penelope on the cheek and then said, "You go ahead, Baby Girl. I'm going to take a look at the action on the field."

Penelope smiled. "Too bad you aren't going to be out there playing, my Statuesque God of Sculpted Chocolate Thunder."

Derek's eyes darkened as the two shared a look, and then he stepped back and sent her a grin. "Catch you in a few, Mama."

They headed into the stands as Derek made his way to the bench where Ranger and the guys were. Lula grinned at Penelope and said, "That's one fine man you got there."

Penelope looked like she was going to argue, but Lula shook her head and said, "Don't be givin' me none of that we-just-friends shit. I see you got it bad for him, and from what I seein', he got it just as bad for you, girl."

There was a look on Penelope's face that told Stephanie she had it bad for Derek but wasn't sure he felt the same—sort of reminded her of how it was for her and Ranger before she'd bared her soul to him. As they reached the others, they observed the pleasantries and then got down to the job of cheering on their team.

Penelope took out a laptop and started typing up a storm.

Blake frowned and then leaned forward. "Were you able to find out anything on those photos?"

Stephanie turned in their direction. "What photos?"

Penelope continued typing as she said, "Reid sent me photos that he took of three women when we were in Pino's the other day. Each one had a baby about the age Peter would be, and I'm looking through our database to see if any of them set of any alarms."

"Can I take a look?"

Penelope turned to Stephanie with her mouth open slightly, as if she were wondering how to politely decline, but before she could say anything, Blake spoke up to say, "That might be a good idea."

Penelope looked to Rossi, and he nodded and said, "I agree."

She turned the screen so Stephanie and Lula could take a look, and Mary Lou moved so that she was able to see as well.

Mary Lou pointed to one of the pictures and said, "That's Grace Gooley and her sister, Betsy. She was head cheerleader and always had a thing for Lenny. Remember that time at the prom, when she locked me in the janitor's closet and told Lenny I went outside with George Wilson?"

Blake's head whipped around. "George Wilson?"

Mary Lou and Stephanie both looked at Blake curiously, but it was Stephanie who said, "Yes, he was a grade ahead of us, and he and Lenny worked great together. They alternated the roles of quarterback and wide receiver."

Blake took a deep breath and then opened her purse to dig for something. After several seconds, she brought out a photograph and asked, "Is this the George Wilson that you know?"

Mary Lou nodded. "How is it you have his picture?"

Blake looked at the photo for a second and then said, "He's the man my niece married."

Stephanie and Mary Lou looked at each other for several seconds, then Stephanie turned to Blake. "I would think George would have recognized Betsy."

Blake nodded. "I think so too."

Stephanie placed a hand on her stomach, and Blake frowned as she asked, "Are you all right?"

Stephanie gave a slight shrug. "I just got a weird feeling, that's all. Maybe we can leave Betsy on the list and check her out just in case." She took a look at the other photos, and her eyes widened. Pointing to the third woman, she said, "That's Lisa Brown. Remember her?"

Mary Lou nodded. "She was a year behind us and was always tagging along. None of us really minded until she started making her move on our guys."

Stephanie nodded. "She had it really bad for Lenny. But she made plays for all of the guys."

Rossi's eyes narrowed. "Penelope, pull up photos of the other victims."

She looked up at him for just an instant, and then her eyes widened as she realized why he was asking her to do it. She turned back to the computer, and her fingers started flying over the keys. Within a matter of seconds, several photos popped up on the screen.

Mary Lou gasped.

Stephanie muttered under her breath as she rubbed her hands on her jeans. "These are all victims?"

Blake nodded. "Yes."

Stephanie lifted her gaze to meet the others. "Within a four-year age span, all of these people went to Trenton High. We would have all been in school together for at least a year."

Reid had his phone out and was punching in a number. After lifting it to his ear, he paused for several seconds and then said, "Hotch, we found a connection between all of the victims." He paused, listening, and then continued, "They all went to Trenton High School."

Reid's eyes narrowed, as if he were concentrating, and then he said, "I'm not sure, but I'll have Garcia check into it."

He replaced the phone on his belt and said, "Garcia, Hotch wants you to find out why that information hasn't come up before."

Penelope turned the computer screen and once again got busy typing. "I'm on it. If there are any secrets, they won't be hidden for long."

Stephanie turned to scan the area around them and lifted a hand to wave. "I've got some help coming with that."

Penelope glanced up momentarily, as if she were stunned at someone suggesting she needed help. "Thanks, but I've got this."

Stephanie nodded. "I'm sure you do, but it never hurts to hedge your bets."

Seconds later, Hector was standing beside them. "What you need?"

Stephanie hesitated, not sure she should divulge what she needed to tell Hector in front of the others.

As if he knew what she was thinking, Hector's eyes narrowed. He took the backpack off his shoulder, opened it to bring out what looked like an iPad, then handed it to Stephanie.

She booted it up and entered the password she'd been given to use. Her fingers hovered for a moment as she thought about what she needed to ask to get what they needed, and then inspiration struck and she started keying in the information. When the words, no results popped up on the screen, Stephanie frowned.

Stephanie saw a hand enter her peripheral vision, and she looked up to see Penelope holding out her hand, as if she was asking for the tablet. She assumed the other woman had guessed at the capabilities of a tablet that looked every inch like an iPad. Garcia said, "Let me try."

Stephanie looked up from what she was doing and hesitated about handing over the machine. She glanced at Hector. His eyes narrowed a fraction, and there was just a moment's hesitation before he gave her a nod.

Stephanie handed over the prototype that Hector had designed and watched as Penelope went to work typing. In a matter of seconds, they were getting all sorts of information flashing onto the screen. When Penelope stopped typing, all of them sat there staring at the information looking back at them.

Stephanie's phone chirped, and she looked up. Her attention was drawn to how still Ranger was standing on the field, and she noticed he was holding his phone up to his ear. The feeling in her stomach suddenly got worse. She reached into her bag to retrieve her phone, checking the caller ID. Her eyebrows furrowed as she saw that it was Joe Morelli calling her. Her gaze went to Ranger as she answered the call, and the moment Joe said, "Steph," she stood and froze, the phone falling from her hand.

 **Edna Mazur** entered the women's room at Cluck-in-a-Bucket. She couldn't believe how hard it had been to convince Lester to bring her here for lunch, but she was hungry for the extra-crispy chicken, and nothing else would do. She'd finally worn him down, and they'd had an enjoyable meal. She just needed to zip in and use the facilities before they headed back to the house she shared with Helen and Frank.

The room was empty except for a young woman at the changing table. Edna smiled. She loved babies and never passed up a chance to meet one. She moved over to the changing table, and the woman hurriedly threw a blanket over the baby lying there.

"Can I help you?"

Edna shook her head. "I just saw the baby and wanted to get a look. That's a cute dress. How old is she?"

She was starting to get the idea that the woman didn't want anyone seeing the child, and that made her wonder. She had a natural penchant for wanting to see what she wasn't meant to see. She narrowed her eyes as she took a good look at the other woman. She was a couple of inches taller, and at a guess, she put her close to Stephanie's age. The blonde hair looked more white than yellow, and there was a familiarity about her features, like she should know who the girl was. Edna lowered her gaze to the child. Just then the blanket slipped, and Edna's eyes widened as she got a look at the baby's plumbing. She turned quickly and hurried into one of the stalls.

As she took care of business, she could hear the other woman moving around and pictured her finishing up changing the baby. The door opened, and Edna heard the younger woman leave. She took a relieved breath. Something was off about this, and she had a sick feeling in her stomach that this was something Stephanie needed to know.

Edna adjusted her clothing and exited the stall so that she could wash up. The hairs on the back of her neck were standing on end, and she glanced around but didn't see anything to cause alarm. She washed and dried her hands, all the while feeling nervous but not quite able to put her finger on what was bothering her.

She was just turning to leave the room when a flash of color in the mirror caught her attention. She turned but wasn't in time to avoid the blow to her head. She reached out and grabbed ahold of the only thing close enough as she went to the floor as everything went dark.

 **Lester** checked his watch as he paced back and forth in front of the ladies room, waiting for Stephanie's grandmother to come out. He hadn't wanted to come here for a myriad of reasons. Among them, not only was he missing the much needed practice with the Steelers, but he was also trying to stay away from the greasy foods that Cluck-in-a-Bucket was known for. It was the kind of food that you loved but was so bad for the body.

The opening of the restroom door had Lester stopping in place to see if Grandma Mazur was finally coming out. He was concerned that she'd been in there for so long. Unfortunately, the only one to come out was a woman about his own age with a scarf wrapped around her head so that her face was obscured.

He frowned and asked, "Excuse me, ma'am. Was there an elderly woman in there? Do you know if she was having a problem of some kind?"

The woman shook her head.

Suddenly, he got that feeling in his gut that he used to get when a mission was about to go south. He didn't care who was in that restroom; he was going in. He brushed by the woman and entered the bathroom. The moment he did, his heart sank and he reached for his phone.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Joe Morelli's jaw was clenched as he stalked into Cluck-in-a-Bucket, wanting to get his hands on the person who'd hurt Stephanie's grandmother. He planned to make sure they paid for hurting the elderly woman. Although she'd done some wild and crazy things over the years, he loved that old woman every bit as much as he loved his own Grandma Bella. What kind of monster would hurt an old woman?

His gaze scanned the room as he made his way to the ladies room, where Lester Santos was standing guard right inside the door, looking between the restaurant and the inside of the restroom. Joe felt the burn in his chest that he always got when there was a call involving Stephanie. Although they had ended their relationship quite some time ago, the feelings that he still had for her couldn't just be turned off. He still loved her; it just wasn't the kind of love that she had for Ranger or that he felt for Robyn. He'd finally understood what Stephanie had known all those months ago. Theirs was the love of two kids in their first throes of love, not the be-all-and-end-all-can't-live-without-you kind of love.

The EMTs were already there and working on Edna. It was imperative that the medics save her. He just hoped they could get enough evidence to catch the person responsible. His fists clenched as he stood there helplessly as the old woman was gently lifted onto the gurney and moved out of the restroom.

He moved to Santos and opened his mouth to start asking questions.

Lester raised his hand and said, "I'll tell you anything you want to know just as soon as I make sure Steph's grandma gets to the hospital and the doctors are working on her."

Joe hesitated, but he knew Lester would do whatever he had to in order to make sure that Edna was getting the care she needed. He nodded. "We'll do what we can here, and then I'll find you at St. Francis."

Joe pitied the poor bastards who tried to stop Lester from his self-imposed task. He shook his head and closed his eyes for a moment, using his thumb and forefinger to pinch the bridge of his nose as he tried to get the image of how frail Edna looked.

When he opened his eyes, Hotch was already at work collecting evidence, and he thanked his lucky stars to have a man with Hotch's qualifications helping out with this. Taking out his phone, he made the call that he'd rather not make. But she needed to know, and he felt it might be better coming from a friend. When he heard what sounded like a phone crashing on something hard, his expression turned grim and he just prayed that Ranger was close by to be able to help her. In hindsight, he might have been better off calling Ranger to begin with, but he couldn't bring himself to bury the hatchet with him yet, even though he'd admitted to himself that Stephanie was right when she'd broken things off.

Once he hung up the phone, he moved forward getting down to the business of collecting any evidence there might be in the bathroom.

 **Hotch** looked at the scene with an objective eye. He sensed that this would be easier for him than Joe, based on the way the detective handled seeing the elderly woman—who was allowing Morgan and Garcia to stay with her and act as if they were family—lying on the floor in a pool of blood.

There were things about the room that looked as if someone had staged it after the fact, to make it look different than it had actually been before. His eyes narrowed as he caught a glimpse of something in Mrs. Mazur's hand, so he knelt down beside her, making sure not to get in the way of the EMTs. After taking a closer look, careful not to disturb the evidence, he looked up at one of the officers and suggested, "We need to collect the evidence in her hand as well as dust for prints. I'd also suggest that you collect the garbage so that we can check for DNA as well as any other trace elements from the items inside."

The officer nodded and glanced in Joe's direction. Hotch looked back that way just in time to see Robyn and JJ walk into the room.

Robyn went to Joe and gave him a hug. She whispered something, to which he nodded his head, and then the two of them joined JJ, who had already reached where Hotch had moved a few feet away and was kneeling looking at the patterns on the floor.

JJ squatted down beside him. "From the splatter patterns of the blood, it looks like the Unsub was taller than the victim."

Hotch nodded. "And from the fact the victim was hit three times over the head, the Unsub lacked the strength to deliver one clean blow. That leads us to the conclusion the Unsub is either a small man or woman not much bigger than the victim."

JJ looked around the room. "If we're lucky, the Unsub might have left some DNA behind on something they used."

"I already have the police collecting the garbage and samples from all of the stalls."

JJ nodded. "I'd add the changing table to that."

Hotch stilled as his brow furrowed. "It's possible that she came upon _our_ Unsub and saw something she wasn't supposed to."

"Anything is possible. At this time, until we can learn more from the victim, we can't leave any option out." She stood up and scanned the room. Her body stilled for a fraction of a second, and then she moved to the garbage can attached to the paper towel dispenser. "Hotch, there are traces of blood here."

One of the officers quickly moved in that direction with the tools needed to collect evidence from where the blood was.

Joe stepped up beside them. "Let's put a rush on this. I want this person."

The officer nodded. "We all like Mrs. Mazur, sir. She's a hoot."

Everyone was quiet for a moment when one of the EMTs said, "Okay, on three."

Hotch watched as they lifted the older woman onto the gurney using the backboard they'd slid under her. Lester Santos, one of the Rangemen, followed them out of the ladies room without a word.

"All right, people," Hotch said, forcing his mind back on the work ahead of them. "Back to work."

 **Stephanie** couldn't stop shaking. It was all she could do to hold it together as Ranger raced to get them to St. Francis. It was a torturous drive from the Steeler's stadium to the small airfield where Ranger had chartered a helicopter to take them to the RangeMan building, where the chopper would set down on the roof.

Ranger didn't stop until they were within walking distance of the chopper, and Stephanie was grateful for his assistance from the car to the chopper. Although this was infinitely better than the just shy of five hours it would have taken them if they'd had to drive it, it still felt like it took forever for them to reach RangeMan.

When they finally pulled up at St. Francis, Stephanie was both scared spitless and anxious to go in and see how her grandmother was. Tears pooled in her eyes as they entered the emergency room to see a wall of black. Several of the RangeMan personnel where standing there and looking at them. She could tell that they were every bit as anxious to learn about her grandmother as she was.

As soon as they entered the waiting room, Diaz—one of Ranger's men—made his way over to them. "Stephanie, Lester just came out and let us know that your grandma is going to be okay. She has a concussion and will need to have someone with her for the next several days, but she's going to be okay."

Stephanie sagged.

Ranger wrapped his arm around her and leaned down to whisper, "I've got you, Babe."

She lifted her face so their gazes met. "I want to see her."

Ranger nodded, and the two headed for the treatment rooms.

Doris March was the nurse on duty, and the minute she saw Stephanie, she stood and moved from her desk to intercept the couple. "I need you to fill out some papers first, Stephanie. If you'll come with me."

Stephanie looked at the woman as if she had three heads. "I'm going to see Grandma, and as soon as I make sure she's all right, I'll come back and fill out your paperwork."

Doris shook her head. "You need to do this first."

Stephanie glared at the woman in front of her. "I'm going in to see Grandma, Doris. Once I'm sure that she's okay, I'll be more than happy to do that. Until then, it's not happening."

Ranger lifted his free hand in the air, and two of the RangeMan guys moved forward and flanked the woman. She was trapped between the two, and Ranger took advantage of the moment to spirit Stephanie back to the treatment rooms.

As they made their way through the doors, there was screeching from behind them, demanding they come back and fill out the papers, but they ignored it. It took only a matter of seconds for them to find the room where Grandma Mazur was. At her first glance at her grandmother, Stephanie put a hand to her chest and then rushed forward so that she was standing by the bed.

Grandma Mazur turned, her eyes squinting as if things weren't as clear as they should be, and then she smiled. "This sure is a pickle, isn't it, baby girl?"

Stephanie smiled wanly. "What did you do this time, Grandma?"

The elderly woman's brow knitted, as if she were searching for a memory that wasn't there. She let out a deep sigh. "Dang blast it! I can't remember anything past when I told Lester I needed to use the facilities."

Stephanie moved forward and put a hand over the other woman's forearm. "Don't worry, Grandma. We'll find who did this."

There was a vacant look in Grandma Mazur's eyes, and then she blinked. Looking up at Stephanie, she had a worried frown on her face. "I think I saw something I shouldn't have. I just can't remember what."

The doctor stepped forward. "Don't try to force the memories, Mrs. Mazur. You're suffering from Anterograde amnesia. That's when things that happened recently—that should be stored in the short-term memory—disappear. It's quite possible that with time, everything will come back to you, although there is a chance that you'll never remember."

Grandma Mazur glared up at the doctor. "Easy for you to say not to push it, sonny. You aren't the one who can't remember." She moved her dentures around and let out another deep breath. "When can I get out of here? I got places to go and things to do."

The doctor shook his head. "I'd feel better if you stayed in the hospital for a few days. You'll need round-the-clock supervision to make sure there aren't any adverse side effects from the concussion."

Grandma Mazur shook her head. "Not happening." She turned to Stephanie. "If you don't get me out of here, you know I'll find my own way out."

Stephanie nodded. She knew from experience that her grandmother wasn't making an idle threat. She turned to the doctor. "I have enough people to make sure she isn't left alone. Plus, most of them know what to look for when someone has a concussion."

The doctor frowned. "I don't like it… However, I know when I'm beaten. I'll have a detailed set of instructions printed up that I expect to be followed."

Grandma Mazur grinned and brought her other hand over to pat Stephanie's. "I knew I could count on you."

Stephanie's eyes narrowed. "Just remember, I expect you to follow every single instruction."

Grandma Mazur's eyes widened, as if she hadn't counted on that. She got a foxy look on her face as she demurely agreed.

Stephanie knew her grandmother was up to something, but she'd warn all the guys and had every confidence they could handle her grandmother. She looked down at the hand covering hers and frowned. "Grandma, what's this?"

There were several slices across the palm of the hand, as if something sharp had sliced the skin.

Her grandmother frowned. "I don't know."

Ranger's eyes narrowed, and he started barking out orders. At first, the medical personnel just looked at him, but then, as if realizing that this could lead to evidence that the police might need for their investigation, they went into motion, and within a matter of minutes, there were forensic people in the room collecting the evidence.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

The mood was somber as Morgan and Garcia entered the Plums' residence. On the ride home, Tank had filled them in on the fact that Stephanie's grandmother had been attacked. The five-hour trip had given them a chance to make some contingency plans for making sure the elderly woman was safe from whoever had targeted her.

Morgan couldn't get past the feeling that this had something to do with the case they were working on. It was a hunch that he planned on checking out as soon as they got back in town.

He'd turned to the backseat, and his jaw had clenched when he'd seen the hurt look on his Baby Girl's face. Although they hadn't been in town very long, Garcia had grown quite fond of Grandma Mazur.

 _As if she sensed he was watching her, she lifted her gaze to his. "You need to catch this creep, Derek."_

 _He leaned over so he could touch her cheek. "Don't you worry, Mama. That Unsub doesn't stand a chance."_

 _Garcia grabbed hold of his hand with both of hers and held it to her cheek. After several seconds, she nodded. "I need to see how she's doing."_

 _Tank shook his head. "No chance of that until Ranger and Stephanie reach the hospital."_

 _Garcia's eyes widened. "What hospital?"_

 _Tank glanced in the rearview mirror. "St. Francis."_

 _Garcia looked down at her hands, and her eyes widened a little more as she saw the tablet in her lap._

 _Morgan wondered where she'd gotten it from, because it didn't look like one of theirs._

 _Garcia's fingers flew over the machine as she started typing in earnest. It was a matter of seconds before she looked up with a smile on her face. "Edna Mazur is listed in stable condition. She has a concussion and has lost some blood, but she's doing fine."_

 _Lula's eyes bulged. "How you know that?"_

 _Garcia lifted a shoulder. "It's what I do."_

 _Tank lifted an eyebrow. "That looks like Hector's gadget you have there."_

 _Garcia nodded. "Yes. He handed it to Stephanie, and they let me look for the information we wanted to find. Oh! That reminds me… We need to get in touch with Hotch."_

 _Morgan raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like you been busy."_

 _Garcia nodded. "We found a connection between all of the victims."_

 _Morgan grinned. "What's that?"_

 _Lula waved her hand in the air. "That can wait. Get back to Granny."_

 _Garcia turned to Lula, then reached out and patted her hand. "She's going to be okay."_

 _Morgan watched as Lula nodded, but there was a look in her eyes as if she wouldn't believe it one hundred percent until she saw for herself._

Derek placed a hand on Garcia's back as he came back to the present when the door shut behind them. "Are you all right, sweetness?"

Garcia turned, and he could see the emotion she was keeping bottled up. He took her in his arms and pulled her close into him as he whispered, "Let it go, Baby Girl. I got you."

For several seconds, they stood like that. Derek felt his body humming, tightening with anticipation and arousal, and before he could think of the consequences, he lifted Garcia's face to his and lowered his lips to hover over hers.

She stilled, as if she was shocked by the motion, and in the next instant, their mouths clung together in a dance of passion as their bodies tried to get even closer. The heat emanating between them fired them to even greater heights, and when they came up for air, they were both breathing very heavily, as if they'd just run a marathon.

Morgan's eyes were hooded as he stared down at her.

She looked hesitantly up at him, as if she were unsure of where they stood.

He let a small smile curl his lip, and then he lowered his head so he could take possession of her mouth once again. He moved them into the living room, where he positioned them on the sofa.

None of the worries and stress of the case or Grandma Mazur were on his mind for a long time after that.

 **She** looked in the mirror, trying to figure out a way to cover it up, but it was no use. Who would have thought that a little old lady would have a monster grip that could rip a golf ball-sized chunk of hair out of someone's scalp? She'd been lucky that she'd had the scarf to cover herself up when she'd left the bathroom. It was a forgone conclusion that the hot guy standing outside of the bathroom would have noticed the bloody patch. She was glad that he'd been distracted enough not to look too closely.

A deep sigh escaped. Before she could come up with a plan, cries came from the nursery, and she hurried to get the baby before he could wake up the rest of the house. She didn't need anyone coming in here and seeing what she was up to before she could come up with a plausible explanation.

Lifting the baby, she carried him to the changing table and changed his diaper. Once he was all nice and dry, she lifted him in her arms and carried him through to the kitchenette that she had access to. It didn't take long to make his bottle, and then she returned to the nursery, where she sat down in the rocker to feed him. He drank thirstily, and within minutes, he'd finished the entire bottle. She burped him and sat in the rocker just holding him.

 **Stephanie** turned around to see how her grandmother was holding up to the trip home, only to find her sound asleep, lying against Lester's chest. She smiled at the picture the two made as she raised her gaze to meet Lester's. There was a twinkle in his eyes as he brought his free hand up and placed his forefinger in front of his mouth in the universal sign to be quiet.

She turned back to the scene ahead to see that Ranger was pulling up outside her parents' home. As she got out of the Cayenne, Ranger opened the back door and lifted Grandma Mazur out.

The group made their way to the front door, and Stephanie was momentarily taken aback that there was no one at the front door to great them. She used her key to unlock the door and directed Ranger as to where to take her grandmother.

Ranger had just started up the stairs when a sound from the living room had him turning slightly in that direction as Lester moved in front of them and pulled his weapon.

Lester moved in the direction of the living room, where the sound had originated, and stopped in the doorway. Although he kept the gun steady in his right hand, his left hand went up in the air in an "I surrender" motion.

Seconds later, Derek stood in the doorway with him, looking as if he'd just woken up. "Kind of late to be creeping around, don'tcha think?"

Stephanie raised a hand and gave him a finger wave as his gaze landed on her. "We just brought Grandma Mazur home. It took forever to get the doctor to finally sign off on the paperwork; he wanted to keep her, but I convinced them she would rest better at home."

Penelope joined Derek in the doorway, and Stephanie smiled as she got a peek at the other woman's disheveled appearance. It looked like the two in front of her were working things out, and she couldn't be happier for them.

Penelope peered owlishly at them. It was the first time that Stephanie had seen her without her glasses. "You should have called. I could have hurried things along."

Lester's eyebrows rose. "How would you have done that?"

Derek grinned. "Penelope has a way with making computers do what she wants them to."

Lester chuckled. "You and Hector should get together. There would be no stopping the two of you."

Penelope's eyes widened. "That reminds me. I still have the tablet from earlier."

Stephanie stepped forward. "Did you find out anything else?"

Penelope shook her head. "No. I think we should set up a meeting so that we can go over what we have, though. It might be enough to give us a better profile."

A hand descended on Stephanie's waist, and she looked up to see that Ranger had rejoined them. His gaze didn't move away from the two in front of them as he said, "Why don't the two of you ride with Lester tomorrow when he brings Edna to RangeMan? We can get the rest of your people there so that we can discuss what's happening."

Stephanie frowned. "What about Mary Lou and Lenny?"

Ranger gave a miniscule nod. "You can call Mary Lou and ask if she and Lenny can drop by to discuss strategy for the game."

"That will work. And Hal can bring Blake and Reid in for a tour of where he works."

Ranger raised an eyebrow, and Stephanie laughed.

Before she could say anything, Penelope said, "I was so relieved when I found out that your grandmother was going to be all right. Do you have any idea of what happened?"

Stephanie shook her head. "No. Unfortunately, the blow to the head caused Grandma to have amnesia."

Derek's eyes narrowed. "I might be able to help with that. We have ways of asking questions that have given us results even in the most difficult of situations."

Stephanie frowned. "The doctors said that she shouldn't try to force it. I don't want her to suffer adversely for trying."

Derek shook his head. "She wouldn't be forcing it. I'd just take her through some questions, and we can see what we get."

There was silence for several seconds, and then a voice from behind them spoke up to say, "I'll do it."

Stephanie turned.

Grandma Mazur was standing at the bottom of the staircase with a determined look on her face.

"I thought you were sleeping…"

A sly look came over Grandma's face as she said, "If you had the chance of being carried by Ranger, wouldn't you pretend you were sleeping too?"

Smiles formed on all of their faces.

Stephanie walked over to her grandmother and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you sure you're up to this?"

Grandma Mazur got a serious look on her face. "Doesn't matter if I am or not. I'm doing this." She turned to Derek. "Let's get to this, sonny."

Derek held out a hand. "Come on into the living room where you'll be more comfortable."

Stephanie walked with her grandmother to the sofa, and the two of them sat down. Ranger stood behind Stephanie with a hand on her shoulder.

Derek sat on the coffee table in front of them before starting. "What made you decide to go out for lunch today?"

Grandma Mazur moved her dentures around in her mouth for a second. "I had a hankerin' for chicken, and only the extra-crispy kind that Cluck-in-a-Bucket serves would do."

"So you enjoyed your meal?"

"What's not to enjoy? Got the chicken I wanted and had a hot guy waiting on me hand and foot."

Lester put his hand up to cover a smile.

"You finished eating, and then what did you do?"

"Had to visit the ladies room."

"Okay, so you went to the ladies room, and then what?"

"Well, if I knew that then there wouldn't be any need for these dang-blamed questions, now would there?"

Stephanie heard soft chuckles all around the room but kept her attention on her grandmother.

Derek had a smile on his face as he asked, "What did the bathroom smell like when you walked inside?"

"What difference does that make?"

"Just answer the question. Close your eyes and try to think about the smell as you entered the restroom."

Grandma Mazur did as she was asked and then wrinkled her nose and fanned the area in front of her nose. "Someone has a dirty diaper. Oh, there's a baby on the changing table. I just love babies. Can't wait till Stephanie has one someday. But then, she might not want one."

Stephanie felt the heat of embarrassment, but as she was ready to interrupt, Derek put up a finger in a shushing motion to head her off. He leaned a bit closer and asked, "What else?"

"I wanted to get a look at the little one, so I went over." Grandma Mazur hesitated, her eyebrows furrowed. "She covered the baby. Like she didn't want me to see him."

"Him? How do you know it was a boy?"

"Well, how do you think I know? The boy's got plumbing." Suddenly, Grandma Mazur froze for several seconds, and then she blinked rapidly several times. She looked around to where Stephanie was sitting beside her and said, "That's it! The minute I saw it, I thought you needed to know. The baby was dressed up like a girl, but he had all the parts of a boy."

Stephanie hugged her grandmother. "Can you tell us anything about her?"

Grandma Mazur narrowed her eyes, as if she was concentrating. "I remember white-blonde hair. And I grabbed hold of it when I was falling…" She paused for a moment and then continued, "And I heard an awful scream."

Stephanie took hold of her grandmother's hand and turned it so that the cuts on the palm were visible. "I think you probably pulled out several strands of her hair."

Derek fished out his phone and typed in a number before connecting the call, clearly putting in on speaker.

"Hotchner."

"Hotch, it's Morgan. I just walked Mrs. Mazur through what happened. Did you find strands of hair in her hand?"

There was a pause. "We found a golf ball-sized section of scalp with the hair attached."

"White-blonde hair?"

"Yes."

Everyone looked at Grandma Mazur.

Derek nodded, even though Hotch wouldn't be able to see him. "It's our Unsub. She got a look at the baby. It was a boy dressed up as a girl."

"JJ and I were thinking that was a possibility."

Derek looked up at Ranger. "Ranger's going to arrange for all of us to get together at RangeMan later this morning."

"That's a good idea. I'll tell Joe and JJ."

"Sounds good." Derek hung up the phone, leaving the room silent.

Stephanie turned to her grandmother. "Now, you need to rest until it's time to go to RangeMan."

She was relieved when Grandma Mazur nodded with a gleam in her eye. "But only if one of these handsome fellas helps me up the stairs."

Lester stepped forward and offered his arm, winking when Stephanie shot him a thankful smile. "C'mon, Mrs. Mazur. Let's get you settled in upstairs."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Lenny Stankovic pulled his Chevrolet Silverado to the curb and put the vehicle into park. He bent down slightly to look through the windshield. Memories of the past came back, and he was reluctant to go inside. The moment his uncle had given him the name, he'd wanted to tell him to send someone else, but then he'd been told there wasn't anyone else available and this was supposed to be an emergency.

Movement in the seat beside him had him looking over at his passenger. He shifted in his seat, uncomfortable with the look Rossi was giving him. He shrugged. "Betsy Gooley did some things to Mary Lou and me when we were in high school. I guess there are still some bad feelings, because I'm not thrilled to be getting anywhere near her."

Rossi frowned. "That's the name of one of the three women we're looking into."

Lenny sighed. "That doesn't make me feel any better."

"I'll be in there with you so you should be relatively safe. After all, from all we've been able to piece together, she tries to ingratiate herself into the family first."

Lenny met Rossi's gaze. "Betsy's already tried that when we were in high school. I didn't want anything to do with her then, and things haven't changed any since then."

Rossi nodded. "But it might be a good idea to give a hint that there are possibilities."

Lenny paused. "You're saying that I should let on like I'd be interested in getting together with her?"

"It could help us."

Lenny frowned. "I'm not hurting Mary Lou in any way, no matter what."

Rossi hesitated a fraction of a second before nodding. "All right. I can respect that."

The two men got out of the vehicle and headed for the front door. Just as they were stepping onto the front porch, the door opened and Betsy Gooley stepped out to great them. She smiled, hooding her eyes as she looked at Lenny. "Hello, handsome. It's been a long time."

Lenny's jaw clenched as he looked at the woman standing there in front of them in a barely there negligee, a terry cloth robe that had been left open, and a towel wrapped around her head, as if she'd just gotten out of the shower. "What's the emergency?"

A flash of what looked like anger crossed her face for a split second, and then she gave him a smug smile. "It's the sink in the kitchen. The baby's medicine went down the drain and has it clogged. I was holding the baby and trying to get the bottle opened. She started fussing, and when she flailed her arms, the bottle flew out of my hands, shattered, and the pieces went down the drain."

Lenny nodded. "All right. I'll take a look."

Betsy eyed Rossi. "Who's your friend?"

Lenny glanced at Rossi. "This is my Uncle Dave."

Betsy gaze was skeptical. "I don't recall you having an uncle that looks like him."

Lenny shrugged. "I doubt that you would have seen him. He didn't come to visit us while you lived here."

She looked at him for several seconds before lifting a shoulder. "I don't buy the uncle story…but he does look familiar for some reason."

Lenny glanced at Rossi and then said, "Show me where this drain is. I have three other calls to get to after this one."

She turned a sultry smile on him and then spun and sashayed into the kitchen with the two men following behind her.

Lenny got busy immediately, wanting to get out of there as fast as possible. It took him a matter of fifteen minutes to reach the clog, and when he did, he frowned. He moved his hands away from the item and, without looking away from the sink, said, "Hey, Uncle Dave."

There was the sound of footsteps, and Lenny felt the presence of someone beside him. He looked up to see Rossi standing there, and then he turned to glance and see if Betsy was in the vicinity. When he didn't see her, he took a relieved breath before whispering, "You have an evidence bag with you?"

Rossi squatted down beside him. "What did you find?"

Lenny kept his voice to a bare whisper as he answered. "A bloody rag. And with her head all covered up, it's possible she's the one that hurt Steph's grandma.

Rossi nodded. He pulled a bag out of his jacket pocket and glanced around before grabbing a pair of hot-dog tongs from the drainer. He carefully used them to lift the rag and put it in the bag before sealing it and placing it in the garbage bag that Lenny had set up to take care of the sludge from the pipes.

"How much longer do you think you'll be?"

Lenny jumped slightly at the unexpected question from behind but recovered quickly. "Just a few minutes. I found the problem. Now I just need to get the pipes back together and we'll be done."

A baby's cry was heard and Lenny lifted an eyebrow. "How old is the baby. I hadn't heard anything about it."

Betsy's eyes darted away. "I never said anything to my parents."

"So, where have you been all this time? I know you went to California…"

Betsy grimaced. "I need to get the baby. Show yourselves out when you're done."

They watched her leave the room, and then Lenny looked up at Rossi. "What do you think?"

"It's too soon to tell, but it's possible."

Lenny quickly finished up, and they left. As they were walking to the vehicle, Lenny said, "Next on my list is Lisa Brown."

Rossi's eyebrows went up. "Another name from our suspect list."

Lenny groaned. "That doesn't make me feel any better."

"What's the story with this one?"

"Lisa was always tagging along with the group. She was a wannabe. Most of us felt sorry for her because Betsy and the other cheerleaders made her life miserable."

"Did she ever approach you or single you out?"

Lenny shrugged. "The last time I saw her, she was running out of the high school gym with mascara running down her face."

"Any idea what happened?"

Lenny shook his head. "No. I was too focused on finding Mary Lou to give it any thought." He paused a moment and then asked, "Do we need to run the rag by the police station?"

Rossi nodded. "That might be a good idea."

There was silence in the vehicle while they made their way to the station and dropped off the evidence and then headed across town to where Lisa Brown lived. Once again, Lenny pulled to the curb and the two men got out and headed for the front door. Unlike at Betsy's house, this time Lenny had to ring the doorbell for the front door to open. When it did, the two men looked at each other for a moment before following Lisa inside.

Lisa Brown was dressed in an oversize teal sweatshirt and pink sweatpants that looked like they were three sizes too big for her. She had a Penguins baseball cap on her head, which seemed odd since she was inside and most women didn't wear hats in their own home.

Lisa's gaze didn't meet theirs as she said, "It's the shower drain that seems clogged. I don't understand what could be wrong with it."

Lenny gave a nod of his head. "I'll take a quick look and see."

Without looking at them, she nodded. She seemed to hesitate for a few seconds and then started moving down a hallway. "It's this way."

They were three quarters of the way there when the sound of a baby cooing had Lisa stopping for an instant. Still not lifting her head to look at them, she bit her bottom lip and said, "I need to tend to the baby. If you could find your own way, it's at the end of the hall on the right."

Lenny smiled. "Sure. No problem."

Lenny worked on the drain for nearly thirty minutes before he found the cause of the clog. He leaned forward to peer into the pipe and then hurriedly backed up as if he'd seen a ghost. " _Shit_!"

Rossi stepped closer. "What is it?"

Lenny shook his head. "It looks like part of someone's scalp."

Rossi moved in even closer. "Can you open the pipe up so that I can get it out?"

Lenny shook his head. "No, I don't have the equipment here with me. But I can replace this pipe with another one and we can take the whole pipe."

The sound of heels on the tile alerted the two men that they were going to have company soon. Lenny put the pipe in one of the unused trash bags he carried in his tool box and set it to the side as he grabbed a new pipe and went to work connecting it in the gap left by the other.

"Were you able to find out what the problem was?"

Lenny finished connecting the pipes before turning to look at Lisa. "Something must have been blocking the pipe. I put a new one on, and everything should be fine now."

Lisa looked like she wanted to say something else, but cries from somewhere in the house had her turning back to the door. "I need to get back to the baby. If you could see yourselves out…"

Lenny grinned. "Sure. No problem."

They waited till Lisa had left the room, and then Lenny stood and joined Rossi. Carrying his tool box and the garbage bag with the pipe inside, the two men left the house and made their way to Lenny's vehicle.

Once he had his seat belt on, Lenny started the vehicle and pulled out into traffic. "I have two more calls to get to today."

Rossi nodded. "Let's stop by the police station again on the way and drop off the pipe."

Lenny nodded and once again headed in the direction of the police department.

Rossi called Hotch en route, and when they pulled up in front of the building, he and Morelli were there waiting for them.

Morelli walked around to Lenny's side and leaned in to rest his forearms on the open window. "We seem to be seeing a lot of each other today."

Lenny shook his head. "Crazy, isn't it."

It didn't take long to transfer the evidence, and then they were on their way to the third home on Lenny's list.

As they neared the house, Lenny frowned. "You know, all three of these women live within a couple of blocks of where Mary Lou and I live."

Rossi nodded. "Who's house are we visiting now?"

"Laurie Deckman. She just moved in. This house has been vacant for nearly two years…" Lenny broke off in the middle of what he was saying as a thought occurred to him. "As a matter of fact, Alexis Denton used to live here when we were in high school. Like Lisa, she was always tagging along, trying to be one of the crowd. The family moved when the father committed suicide."

Lenny pulled to the curb, and they got out and headed to the house. As they got close, the front door opened. Laurie Deckman stepped out onto the porch. "I'm glad you could make it on such short notice. I don't know what could be wrong with the drain."

Lenny smiled as he took in the pristine black slacks, two-inch black pumps, charcoal-gray button-down blouse, and expertly made-up face. The only thing that seemed incongruent was the oversize yellow floppy hat that she was wearing at an angle that totally covered her hair. "I'll take a look and see what I can find."

Laurie frowned. "When the house was inspected, I was told I might need to replace the plumbing. Although the house has been renovated thirteen times over a period of forty-three years, it still has the original plumbing and wiring."

Lenny frowned. "It's possible the plumbing might need a makeover."

She nodded. "How long would it take to do that?"

Lenny shrugged. "That depends."

Laurie frowned. Before she could say any more, a baby's screams were heard, causing her to turn her head to the side.

The movement caused the hat to fly up on one side, and Lenny felt like he was going to be sick. There was a chunk of the woman's scalp that was missing, and if he wasn't mistaken, it looked fresh. He turned to Rossi and, from the narrow-eyed way the other man was studying Laurie, knew he'd seen it as well.

She turned back to them quickly and said, "Take a look. The one that's giving me problems is in the bathroom. If the pipes need overhauled, though, I'd rather get everything done at once. I'll find you when I've taken care of the baby."

Lenny nodded. "All right."

They watched her hurry away and then made their way to the bathroom, where he did an assessment to see what might be causing the issue. It was as he was checking the shower drain fifteen minutes later that he found it. "Hey, Uncle Dave."

Rossi moved over beside him and squatted down. "What do you have?"

Lenny looked around and then pointed.

Rossi looked in the drain and said, "We don't seem to be narrowing down the suspect list."

Lenny chuckled. "That's just what I was thinking."


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Stephanie pulled up across the street from Norville Thompson's and looked over at Derek. She grimaced as she took in the suit that he was wearing before turning to look in the back to see if there was anything she could offer him so that his suit would have a chance of making it through the day.

Normally Lula would be her sidekick, but after what happened to Grandma Mazur, Ranger insisted one of the guys accompany her when she went after skips. Derek had come up with the idea of his going with her so he would have a chance to check in with Hotch when Stephanie took the skips to the precinct. To make it all official, Ranger had hired Derek to work for RangeMan.

Stephanie wasn't surprised that Ranger had called Rodriguez to have him do a background check on Derek before setting everything in motion. The look on Derek's and Penelope's faces when they'd realized what Ranger was doing was priceless. She hadn't expected Rodriguez to be able to dig anything up—after all, the man worked for the FBI—sure enough, within fifteen minutes he'd called Ranger back to tell him everything was a go.

Movement at the window where Norville's apartment was located told her the man was home. She bit her bottom lip as she looked at Derek's clothes once again. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Derek grinned. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you don't want me to come with you."

Stephanie laughed. "Oh, I don't mind. It's just that I know what this skip is capable of, and you're dressed kind of nice today."

Derek threw back his head and laughed. "I think I can handle whatever your skip has to throw at me."

Her eyes narrowed as she debated.

Derek shook his head. "I teach self-defense." He grabbed the folder and opened it to scan over the information inside before tossing the folder back onto the dash. "This Norville person doesn't have anything I haven't seen before. Trust me."

Without saying a word, Stephanie climbed out of Big Blue.

Derek joined her, and the two of them headed inside the apartment building and up to the third floor. When she went to move in front of him at the landing, he reached out and took hold of her arm. "I got this." He grinned once again as he teased, "After all, this is why Ranger agreed to let me partner you. So I could protect you from the big bad skips. Now just stand back and watch how the professionals do things."

Stephanie pursed her lips as she waved her arm in the direction of the door. "You want to go first, by all means."

Derek swaggered forward and pounded on the door. "Bond enforcement. Open up."

A loud thud sounded from inside the apartment, and at the sound of breaking glass, Derek put his boot to the door and it went flying open.

Stephanie's eyes went wide as she took in the fact that Norville was standing by the open window with two large milk crates.

Norville's eyes narrowed, and he reached in to the closest one, pulling out a handful of eggs.

Derek took five hits to the chest in a matter of seconds, which rendered his shirt, tie, and suit jacket a total loss. Two more eggs connected with his bald head, and another landed on his shoes.

Knowing what was coming next, Stephanie ducked back out of the apartment and headed down the stairs so she could make her way around to the back of the building. She hadn't even made it to the top of the stairs when she heard Derek swearing from inside the apartment. She grinned and said to herself, "Guess that will teach you for not listening, won't it, Mr. Derek Morgan?"

It didn't take her long to make her way around to the back of the building. From past experience, she knew better than to stand in plain sight, so she stayed behind one of the oak trees. A loud scream had her peeking around the trunk in time to see Norville slipping out the window.

Stephanie watched as he moved carefully across the roof until he got to the fire escape ladder. Knowing he would have to hold on with both hands and her best chance at grabbing him was when he reached the bottom, she quickly moved across the lawn to get into position.

She had a fleeting thought of remorse for not having warned Derek.

There was a commotion of running feet, and she heard Derek roar, "Where are they?"

She glanced up to see how Norville was responding, and their gazes met.

Norville's eyes narrowed before looking past her.

Guessing that he was getting ready to jump and make a run for it, she moved closer to the building so he wouldn't land on her if he did jump. At the exact moment that Norville jumped, Derek ran around the building and stopped under the ladder in the exact spot where Stephanie had been only seconds prior.

It was all she could do to maintain her composure and not bust out laughing. Derek was nearly unrecognizable as he was covered in white feathers.

Norville landed on Derek, and the two went to the ground. Norville rolled so that he was on top, and in seconds he was up and running with Stephanie giving chase. She'd nearly reached him when something white flew past her and tackled him.

She stopped with her hands on her hips as she tried to catch her breath.

Morgan had Norville handcuffed and on his feet in no time. "You just bought yourself a pile of trouble by running."

Norville grimaced. "I would have gotten away if you weren't here." He turned to Stephanie. "I didn't know you got a new partner. What happened to the fat clown?"

"I wouldn't be calling anyone names… You aren't so skinny yourself."

"Well, if it was you and that other one, I could have outrun you."

"Then I guess it's lucky for me that my cousin is in town."

Norville grimaced again. "How long will that be for?"

Derek shrugged. "I don't know, but all Stephanie has to do is call me and I'll come deliver you anytime."

They'd been talking as they moved to the vehicle, and now Stephanie was looking between Derek and Big Blue, wondering how she was going to keep the feathers and the sticky goo holding them on Derek from getting all over the seat.

Derek must have caught her frown, because his brows furrowed. "What?"

Stephanie shrugged. "Nothing."

"Don't give me that. I can see you thinking about something."

She bit her lip to keep the smile from slipping onto her face as she motioned to him. "Well, you aren't exactly dressed for riding in a car."

Derek looked down at himself and grumbled. "No. This joker had a bucket of something hanging from the ceiling. It tipped when I tripped the wire and doused me. Then the laughing fool turned on a fan and threw bunches of feathers in the air."

Stephanie put her hand up to her mouth. "Norville, you've been watching _Home Alone_ too much. You aren't Kevin McCallister."

Derek assisted him into the backseat and then went around to the passenger seat.

Stephanie glanced his way once more before starting the car and heading to the police station.

It didn't take them long to get to the police station. Stephanie knew from past experience what kind of teasing Derek was in for, and she almost felt sorry for him. "Would you like me to swing by my parents' so that you can change?"

"Naw. Let's get this joker in lockup, and then I can change."

She shrugged as she pulled into the lot adjacent to the precinct.

A loud duck call sounded as soon as they exited from the car. Stephanie looked over in time to see Derek put his head down. "Man, I should've taken you up on that offer and changed. These dudes are going to be merciless."

Stephanie nodded. "They can get pretty intense."

The two of them walked Norvile inside and dropped him off with the docking lieutenant. Stephanie frowned as a female officer with white-blonde hair came out from the back. The woman was close to her own height and weight and normally wouldn't draw her attention, but the fact that the woman had a large dressing on the right side of her scalp gave Stephanie pause.

Before she could say anything, though, Robyn and JJ joined them. JJ's eyes widened when she took in Derek's appearance, and her hand went up to cover her mouth.

Robyn chuckled. "I see Norville is up to his old tricks. You're doing better, Steph. This time you didn't even get hit with an egg."

Stephanie grinned. "I had a distraction. He was so busy getting Derek, I don't think he even saw me."

Laughter from behind had them turning. Big Dog, Carl, Morelli, and Hotch had joined them. Stephanie saw money exchange hands between Carl and Joe and her eyes narrowed. "Betting against me, Morelli?"

Joe grinned. "Aw, Cupcake, it's all in fun."

JJ moved closer to Derek, and before she could say a word, he held up a hand. "Don't say it."

She laughed.

Hotch was wearing a frown, but the twinkle in his eyes suggested he was holding back laughter as well. "Rossi has been by twice with evidence that might relate to the case."

Derek seemed to get more intense. "Have you been able to narrow things down?"

JJ shook her head. "No, we just keep adding more evidence."

Stephanie leaned in closer and lowered her voice. "The officer at the desk has a chunk of hair missing."

Hotch nodded. "I saw that earlier. She also seems overly interested in what JJ and I are doing."

Morelli's eyes narrowed. "She's new here, just transferred in from Newark. I could do some digging…"

Stephanie shook her head. "If you use the computers here, she might know you're on to her if she's the one responsible. I can ask Rodriguez to do it."

Hotch shook his head. "I'm sure he's very capable, but Garcia is the best I know at getting information."

Stephanie bit her lip for a moment as she debated whether she should say anything more. "Why don't you have Penelope do her thing and I'll ask Rodriguez to do his, and then we can compare notes?"

Hotch nodded. "Fine. But you aren't going to find anything she doesn't."

Morelli's phone chirped, and he answered it, "What's up, Lenny?" Joe's gaze moved to Hotch as he said, "I'll tell him." He disconnected the call and let out a sigh. "They have more evidence they're bringing by."

JJ's eyes widened. "That means we have four suspects now."

 **She** hurried through the house, taking only her treasures. Damn! If only no one had seen her until she was able to repair the damage. But she'd seen the way they looked at her, and if she wasn't careful, they'd be on to her before she could set her plan in motion. She'd done her research well. After all, she'd had nearly twenty years to plan things out. It was the reason she'd spent so long in college. It took time to get that many degrees. If she'd just gotten one, it would have been too easy for them to find her when they finally caught on to what she was doing.

That damn detective had come close. Of course, the fact that Irene was related to an FBI agent hadn't helped. Now they were on the case as well. She'd known the minute they got into town that they were closing in on her. Once she'd made Lenny pay, she didn't care what happened anymore. She'd welcome going to prison.

A voice from her childhood sounded in her head, and her thoughts turned inward as she remembered that last day.

" _What's the matter, Lucita?"_

 _A sniffle was her answer._

 _She sat down by the dejected form of her younger sister and put her arm around her shoulders. "Tell me. Maybe I can help."_

" _Lenny picked Mary Lou as his partner."_

 _Rage boiled inside her. "I thought he was your boyfriend… Why would he pick another girl?"_

 _Lucita shrugged a shoulder. "I asked him why he didn't pick me, and he said I was a nice friend, but he really likes Mary Lou."_

" _Friend?"_

 _It hurt to look at the pain in the eyes that turned her way. "He said I misunderstood his friendship. He doesn't feel that way about me."_

 _She hugged the younger girl to her. "I'm sorry, sissy. Don't you worry. There will be other boys."_

 _Lucita shook her head. "Not for me."_

 _The younger girl stood and flew down the sidewalk. When she neared the road, her feet seemed to wobble, and the next moment, she was falling into the street. A late-model Buick careened around the corner and barreled down the small form._

 _She stood there frozen in time, trying to make herself believe what she'd seen wasn't real._

The sound of a baby crying brought her back to the present, and she left what she was doing to go see to him. She didn't feel the love she had previously when she looked at him. Frowning, she wondered why. Thoughts ran through her head as she tried to understand her change of feeling.

She smiled down at the infant as she leaned over the crib. "How's Momma's big boy?"

He scrunched up his face, and the crying continued in earnest.

A deep sigh escaped. She hated the crying. Seems he'd done more of that in the past few weeks than any baby had a right to. She had the fleeting though about covering him with the blanket until he was quiet…but no, she couldn't do that.

She reached in and lifted the baby into her arms before carrying him over to the changing table. Once he had a clean diaper on, she grabbed a pair of pink overalls and a pale-lavender shirt. "Don't worry. You're too young to remember you were dressed as a girl when you were a baby. As soon as we leave here, you'll be a boy again. With those damn agents so close, I can't take a chance that they won't recognize you."

Once she'd finished dressing him, she once again lifted him in her arms. "That wasn't so bad now, was it?"


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Ranger pulled the documents from the printer and started reading. A frown appeared as the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He was getting the same feeling he did on a mission right before everything went FUBAR. When Stephanie had called to ask if he could have Rodriguez do a search, he'd been slightly skeptical that they'd find anything the FBI analyst wouldn't. After all, she was legendary. He knew for a fact that the Pentagon had used her to ferret out information without her knowledge. It had been her intel that his team had been handed on several missions, and each one had gone off without a hitch. The woman was phenomenal.

When he'd finished the document, he tossed it on his desk. They were missing something. He checked his watch and stood. By his calculations, Stephanie and Derek should be arriving any minute for the meeting they'd set up a couple of days ago. They'd had to postpone it since his team had been called for an immediate extraction of a high-ranking official. As soon as they were in the air heading back, he'd called Morelli to tell him the meeting was on for late this afternoon. Not two seconds after he'd hung up, the call from Stephanie had come in with the request for the search.

Chatter from outside his office filtered in, and he smiled. Stephanie was in the building. It still amazed him the effect a little white girl from the 'Burg had on his men. Of course, it made sense, since she'd had such a profound effect on him as well. Moving to the door, he opened it to find Stephanie there with her hand raised, as if to knock.

She smiled at him, and he let himself return the smile. "Babe."

Her eyes rolled. "That's all I get is a Babe?"

He reached out and took hold of both arms, brought her flush against him, then swooped down and covered her mouth with his in a deeply passionate kiss. When he felt her sag, he readjusted so one arm was across her back to better hold her up. They stood there for several seconds, with Stephanie giving back as good as she got. It was the sound of her grandmother's voice that had them coming up for air.

"Wowza! Anyone else getting hot flashes watching them two go at it?"

Ranger drew back slightly, his gaze on the woman in his arms. Although to the majority of the world, her curly, shoulder-length hair, blue eyes, and features were average, she was the most beautiful woman in the world to him. He kissed her forehead. "Come on, Babe. Let's get this meeting over so we can have a proper homecoming in private."

Grandma Mazur grinned. "Can I sell tickets? I'd make a killing with that one."

Stephanie turned to glare at her grandmother. "Not if you want to make it to your next birthday."

Grandma Mazur let out a sigh. "You're always putting the brakes on my fun."

Ranger chose that moment to usher everyone into the fifth-floor conference room. There were three other conference rooms, but this one was the only one large enough to accommodate the entire RangeMan staff. Although most of his staff wouldn't be joining them, there were enough people that using this room made sense. Aside from Stephanie and himself, Hal, Lester, Hector, Tank, Bobby, and Rodriguez were there for RangeMan.

Morelli, Hotch, JJ, Robyn, Reid, Blake, Hal, Rossi, Lenny, Mary Lou, Grandma Mazur, Lester, Penelope, Morgan, Hector, Tank, Lula, Bobby, and Rodriguez rounded out the members involved in this meeting. All their FBI counterparts—Hotchner, Jareau, Reid, Blake, Rossi, Garcia, and Morgan—were there. Rounding out the meeting were Morelli, Robyn, Lenny, Mary Lou, Grandma Mazur, and Lula.

He waited for everyone to be seated before starting. "Rodriguez wasn't able to dig up very much on the police department's newest hire."

He waited for everyone to be seated before nodding to Rodriguez to begin

Rodriguez started passing out the files he had in front of him. "I wasn't able to dig up very much on the police department's newest hire. There should be ten times the information in this file than I was able to come up with."

Stephanie opened the folder she'd just been handed and started reading.

Penelope's eyes widened as she opened hers. "You have more in here than I did."

Ranger noticed the slightly shocked reaction from the rest of the BAU team members at her words. "Our search program is pretty extensive."

Stephanie gasped, drawing everyone's attention.

"What is it, Babe?"

Stephanie was slightly paler than normal as she looked around the table before answering. "She looks like someone I used to know. When I saw her at the station, something was off, but I couldn't figure out what that was. It just hit me now, the resemblance. I just can't place the name."

Mary Lou's eyebrows furrowed as she took a closer look.

It was Lenny who spoke up to add, "It was the girl who got hit by a car when we were in third grade. Lucita. I remember because we'd had an argument earlier that day. She was upset because I'd asked Mary Lou to the dance. I'd told her that I really liked Mary Lou. Lucita said something about being my girlfriend, and I told her she was a girl that was a friend but I could only be interested in Mary Lou. It kind of freaked me out to find out she was dead the next morning."

Stephanie frowned. "Is it possible that this woman is some kind of relative and she's the one we're looking for? And if so, why would she have targeted all those other people?"

Penelope lifted a laptop to the table and opened it up. After a lot of typing, she looked up to the room in general and said, "Give me as much information as you remember."

Ranger watched as Stephanie and the others talked about those things they could remember from their childhood about the girl who'd been hit by a car.

Penelope typed as fast as they talked, and when they stopped, her eyes went wide and she said, "Oh, oh, oh."

Morgan sat forward. "What is it, Baby Girl?"

"Lucita had an older sister who went into foster care after the accident. Apparently the parents blamed her for the death of her sister because she was supposed to have been watching her. Lexus—" Garcia spelled it out for them "—was twelve at the time. Three months after being put into foster care, she ran away and hasn't been heard from since."

Rossi leaned forward and placed his folded hands on the table. "Talk about stressors. If this woman is our unsub, why would she target the others? Why not just Lenny?"

There was silence for several beats, and then Reid spoke up to say, "If she's been following Lenny's accomplishment, it's possible she might have erroneously determined those friendships to be of more importance than they actually were and she's been practicing killing those families so that when the time comes to go after her real target, she'll have her method perfected."

Grandma Mazur put a hand to her head and winced.

Stephanie reached out and asked, "What is it, Grandma?"

The older woman shook her head. "I just wish I could remember what the woman who attacked me looked like."

Stephanie glanced over to Ranger, and at his nod—he knew without words what she was asking; it was there in her eyes—she patted her grandmother's arm and said, "Why don't I take you upstairs to our apartment, where you can relax."

Grandma Mazur shook her head. "Maybe if Derek does that voodoo he does again, I can remember more."

Derek shook his head. "You've already given us enough to go on. Don't push the rest. It'll come back to you in time."

"Yes, but will it be in time to help Mary Lou and Lenny?"

Mary Lou squirmed in her chair. "I appreciate your wanting to help, Mrs. Mazur. Maybe Stephanie's right, though, and you should rest."

Grandma Mazur's eyes narrowed. "All right. I'll go rest…but I'm going to need some beefcake to go with to keep me company so I don't go stir crazy."

Ranger let the corner of his mouth rise up in a slight smile before his gaze moved to Lester. "Santos will go with you. We'll be up as soon as we're done here."

Lester gave a nod and stood before moving over to where Edna was seated and helping her from the chair.

Edna stopped at the door and turned back with narrowed eyes. "Now don't you go talking about me behind my back."

Derek grinned. "Well, ma'am, I need to tell them what I found out the other night after you were injured."

Edna gave a brisk nod. "Fine."

Once the door closed behind them, Hotch asked, "What did you learn?"

Morgan went on to tell the others about his session with Mrs. Mazur, and then they went over the rest of the information they'd been able to dig up.

Rossi and Lenny added what happened to them with the three calls Lenny had had that day.

The whole time the group was talking, Penelope continued typing away. When they finished, she spoke up to say, "Shazam! Oh, I'm good."

Hotch's gaze zeroed in on her as he asked, "What do you have?"

Ranger watched as, without looking up from her screen, she started listing everything. When she finished, they all sat there looking at each other for several beats.

Once again, Hotch spoke up to say, "All right. JJ and I will take the female officer. Rossi, I want you to question Lisa Brown, Reid and Blake will question Betsy Gooley, and Morgan, that leaves you with Laurie Deckman."

Rossi lifted an eyebrow. "We're coming out in the open?"

Hotch didn't have to say a word. It was in the look on his face, as well as his stance, that the time had come to show their hand. Ranger knew that look well.

Stephanie asked, "What would you like us to do?"

Hotch turned to look at her and said, "Maintain security on your grandmother and the Stankovics."

Within seconds, the room was deserted except for Ranger and Stephanie. She turned to him and said, "I have a bad feeling."

He pulled her closer and wrapped his arms around her. "We'll protect them, Babe."


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Without looking, Stephanie swatted at the offending noise before rolling so that the pillow would cushion the sound. Memories of the night before, when she and Ranger had bid each other a proper hello, raced through her mind. At first she thought the warm hand gliding up her body might be a leftover memory, but then the lips that followed told her this was real. Not wanting to risk interrupting Ranger's attention to detail, she continued to remain motionless.

Several seconds later, when she thought he'd remove the pillow and reacquaint himself with the rest of her, they were interrupted by the sound of a phone ringing.

Ranger stilled, one hand covering her breast. Seconds later he was saying, "Yo!" There was a pause and then he continued, "I'll tell her. Maybe there's something we can do on this end."

She heard the rustle as Ranger replaced his phone to his utility belt.

"Wake up, Babe."

There was something in his tone that told Stephanie something was wrong. She threw the covers back and sat up, letting the pillow fall to the bed beside her. "What is it?"

"Victoria Dane didn't show up for work today, and Hotch and his team have no idea where to find her."

Stephanie frowned. "What can we do?"

Ranger looked directly at her. "Not us, Stephanie. You."

"Ranger, have you seen Penelope work? She's brilliant, and if she can't find them, Rodriguez is better at that than I am. He knows more ways to get in places."

"True. But you have a knack for finding the needle in the haystack that the rest of us overlook, and that's what we need right now. I'm going to have Tank pick up Penelope and bring her here so the two of you can work from RangeMan."

Stephanie put a hand to his shoulder and shoved gently. "Then let me up so I can get showered and dressed."

Ranger leaned in and gave her a bone-melting kiss before leaving her. When he got to the doorway, he turned back to her with smoldering eyes. "Remember where we left off."

Stephanie fanned herself as he disappeared from sight and then shook her head to clear it before racing to the bathroom. She had a vested interest in making sure this person was caught sooner rather than later.

Thirty minutes later, she exited the elevator on the fifth floor and headed for the smaller conference room that Ranger usually had her use when she needed to work with someone on a project. It was unofficially her office, but officially it was Conference Room D. Penelope was already there, hunched over her computer doing whatever voodoo she was doing.

"Can I see what you have so far?"

Penelope looked up out of the corner of her eye. "Hector set up the other computer so you have everything I have. You can even follow along with what I'm doing at the moment. That dude has some serious skills. I have a computer that can't be hacked, and he did."

Stephanie nodded. "He's phenomenal."

"I'll say."

Stephanie sat down and pulled up the information on the screen. The more she read through the information, the more her stomach started giving her the feeling like it was twisted in knots. Something she'd read the night before kept trying to weave itself into what she was seeing before her. She stood and rushed from the room to find the folder that Rodriguez had given them. Within five minutes, she was back and reading through the file once more.

The minute her brain registered what had been bothering her, she knew that all the pieces fit and she started putting information into the computer in front of her.

All of a sudden, Penelope said, "Whoa! What did you do?"

"I was going over the report from last night and remembered some things, so I put them in. I hope it didn't mess up what you were doing."

"Mess it up? Not likely. I just got a windfall of information that we didn't have before."

Stephanie pulled up the page that Penelope was on, and her eyes widened as she read what was on the screen. "I think we found something."

Penelope nodded. "Oh, yeah!" She tapped the earbud she had in her ear and, after a few seconds, said, "Hotch, we have something. I'm sending it to your PDA."

Stephanie watched as Penelope once again tapped the thing in her ear before asking, "Now what?"

Penelope turned to look at her. "Not much else we can do till we hear from one of the team."

Stephanie sighed. "I'm going to get something to eat. Can I get you anything?"

"I don't suppose they have a cappuccino machine here, do they?"

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Not here, but I can get you what you like."

Penelope wrote something down on a piece of paper and handed it to her. "There's three choices there. I listed them in order of preference."

Stephanie glanced down at the paper and smiled. "You're in luck. Your first choice is the same as what Lula likes. I'll be back in a jiffy."

It only took her five minutes to get to the penthouse apartment and make drinks for Penelope and herself. With a cup in each hand, she made her way back down to the fifth floor. Before she'd taken more than a few steps, Ranger came rushing from his office. Stephanie had seen the look on his face a few times, and it promised the person on the receiving end would be in a world of hurt very soon indeed.

A knot formed in her stomach as she realized he was headed for the conference room where she was working with Penelope. She hurried her pace so that she met Ranger at the door before he entered the room. "What is it?"

He turned to her. "When Hotch went to question Victoria Dane, she pulled her gun and shot her way out of the precinct. Robyn's in critical condition, and so is your cousin Eddie."

Stephanie felt the blood drain from her face as she swayed slightly. Instantly, Ranger's arms moved to support her.

At that moment, Tank exited his office, and after taking one look at the situation, he joined them. He gently took the drinks from Stephanie's hands. "Lula's not here, is she?"

Stephanie smiled wanly. "Penelope has the same tastes in drink."

He nodded. "Let me take this one to her."

He disappeared inside the conference room, and Stephanie heard the low rumble of his voice, but what he was saying didn't register. Seconds later he was rejoining them. "Penelope said they have her cornered."

Ranger's face darkened with determination. "Where?"

Tank cocked his head and raised his voice to ask, "What's the location where they have her?"

As Stephanie listened to the address being rattled off, it seemed familiar to her. Her eyes widened, and she turned to look up at Ranger. "That's Mooner's address."

Ranger turned them so they were heading in the direction of the elevator as he pulled his phone from his utility belt. Before he made the call, he lifted his voice and said, "Make sure Penelope gets home safely, and have someone shadow her."

He didn't wait for a response. In the next instant, the phone was at his ear as he said, "Morelli, we're on our way."

It took Ranger half the time it would normally have taken Stephanie to get to Mooner's address. Of course they had to park three blocks away and walk in because the police had the area blocked off. As they got to where the others were gathered, Stephanie saw that Lula was arguing with Morelli. Once they were close enough to hear what the two were saying, an idea came to her. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Hotch and JJ moved to join them as well.

"I gotta get in there before one because that's when the _I Love Lucy_ marathon starts, and I'm not in a Lucy-watching mood."

Morelli paused for a beat before saying, "I'm sorry. No one in or out until we have our suspect in custody."

There was a frown of concern on Hotch's face as he asked, "What's the problem?"

Joe shook his head. "No problem."

Stephanie glanced up at Ranger, and at the knowing expression on his face, she knew that he was already aware of what she was about to propose. He held out his keys, and she knew that he was behind her in what she planned to do. She turned her focus to the group before her and said, "Actually, it makes sense. If Lula and I go in to pick up Mooner, she shouldn't suspect a thing. We can have her handcuffed before she even knows that's our intent."

Joe was shaking his head before she could even finish her plan. Before he could say no, Hotch started speaking. "I don't think that's a good idea. Ms. Dane's a trained officer…"

Lula planted her hands on her hips. "Well, Stephanie and me are no slouches."

"I didn't mean to imply you were…"

Again Lula cut him off before he could finish his sentence. "Good. Then outta my way so's I can go get me an FTA."

Ranger placed a hand on Stephanie's shoulder as he spoke to Hotch. "It's the best chance you have of getting her. While Stephanie and Lula are getting the SUV, we can get into position."

A look of dawning slipped over the others' faces as they realized the true intent. A simple nod was the only acknowledgement that the plan was a go and the others moved away.

Lula looked to Stephanie. "What just happened?"

"I'll explain it as we walk back to the Cayenne."

For the next five minutes while they made the trek to the vehicle, Stephanie laid out the plan to Lula. When Lula pulled the passenger door open, she had a glare on her face. "I don't like this plan."

Stephanie shrugged. "Well, if you'd rather wait till _I Love Lucy_ is on…"

"Hell no! I said I don't like it, not that I wasn't willing to play along."

With that, the two got situated in the Cayenne and headed out. Stephanie pulled up to the curb in front of Mooner's building and cut the engine. Reaching down beneath her seat, she retrieved the gun from the safe there and placed it in her bag, along with the handcuffs, stun gun, and pepper spray that were already inside.

Lula gave her a serious look as she asked, "You don't think she's too dangerous, do you?"

"She's trapped. I think she might be capable of anything."

Lula's eyes narrowed. "She best not hurt Mooner. I like the little guy."

Stephanie grinned. "He does grow on you."

They carefully made their way to the door, and Stephanie knocked.

Mooner opened the door a crack, and Stephanie's stomach felt like it was on a rollercoaster and they'd just done a drop. His eyes went wide, and she had the feeling he was trying to tell them something without actually coming out and saying it. He winced and then said, "I'm busy right now. It's not a good time for company."

Stephanie smiled. "It's never a good time when we have to take you back to jail."

He hung his head. "I forgot all about that. I even had it marked on my calendar."

"It's okay. You can come with us, and I'll call Connie to meet us there so she can bond you out again."

He shook his head. "No can do, dudette." He winced again.

In the next second, the door opened a fraction more, and Stephanie saw Victoria Dane—or more accurately, Victoria Denton, according to what she and Penelope and had dug up that morning—standing behind Mooner with a gun aimed at them.

She smirked. "By all means, come in. It will give me more leverage if those bumbling idiots catch up with me."

 **David Rossi** pulled to the curb and turned off the SUV. His mind was racing on the coming interview as he went over everything he knew about Lisa Brown. Leaving the file on the seat, he climbed out of the SUV and headed for the front door. He rang the doorbell and listened for the sound of someone moving around inside, but there was only silence. Moving to the nearest window, he peered inside, but there was a look as if no one were home.

Taking out his phone, he punched in Garcia's number.

"Ask and ye shall receive. What can I do for you?"

"Garcia, I'm at Lisa Brown's. The house has the appearance of no one living here."

He heard the tapping of Garcia's fingers on the computer keys, and a few seconds later, she said, "According to what I just found out, she had everything turned off this morning."

"What's the forwarding address?"

"She didn't give one."

"Damn it! If she's our Unsub, we might have missed our window."

"What do you need me to do, sir?"

"Find her, Garcia. We can't let her leave those three children orphans."

"I'm on it, but it might take a while."

"Why's that?"

""Well, because Victoria Dane…well, actually, Victoria Denton, shot her way out of police headquarters and is now held up in a building with hostages."

"Give me the address."

Rossi listened as Garcia rattled off the address, and then he quickly moved to his vehicle so that he could make his way across town.

 **Blake** pulled to the curb and turned off the ignition. She leaned her head back on the headrest of the seat and closed her eyes.

Reid frowned. "Are you all right? I can do this on my own if you'd like."

Blake opened her eyes and turned to him. "I'll be fine. We just need to get the Unsub caught so this can all be over."

Reid nodded. "From all the information we have on Betsy Gooley, it's highly doubtful that she's our Unsub, but there is a close enough tie that she has to be ruled out."

Blake smiled wanly. "I think that's why Hotch asked us to question her."

Reid felt uncertain how to handle Blake's emotions, so his response was more timid than normal. "Are you ready?"

Blake's answer was to reach for the door handle and exit the SUV.

Reid hurried to follow, and once they reached the front door, he allowed Blake to take the lead.

She knocked on the door, and there were sounds of someone stumbling around inside. A few seconds later, the door was opened and Betsy Gooley stood before them with bloodshot eyes and a scowl. "It's freaking ten o'clock in the morning. What do you want?" She frowned, and then her eyes widened. "Son of a bitch! I know where I've seen you before. On the TV. You work for the FBI."

Blake nodded. "We're with the Behavioral Analysis Unit. May we come in?"

Betsy looked over her shoulder to the room behind her before turning her attention once more in their direction. "It's a mess in here. We can talk just fine here."

Blake let her gaze scan the porch, and then she gestured to the chairs that were set up a short distance away. "Why don't we have a seat?"

Betsy glared. "I'm fine just as I am. Either ask your questions or get the hell away from me."

Reid frowned. "I don't understand where all this hostility is coming from."

A baby's cry interrupted them before they could go any further. Betsy looked torn but finally gave a sigh, and with her voice a mere whisper, she said, "Come in, then, why don't you. I've got to get the baby."

They followed Betsy into the house and waited in the living room. When Betsy returned several minutes later, she was carrying the baby dressed in a T-shirt and bib overalls. This child was obviously a boy. Blake turned to Reid, because although she didn't think she'd ever forget what Peter looked like, Reid's eidetic memory would be more infallible.

Reid gave a barely perceptible shake of his head. "Your baby is obviously a boy. Why did you have him dressed as a girl in Pino's the other day?"

Betsy rolled her eyes. "Giorgio's father was in there, and I don't want him knowing he has a son."

Reid and Blake both frowned, but it was Reid who asked the question. "Why is that?"

Betsy sighed. "Because if the ass knew he fathered a boy, he'd make my life miserable until I agreed to marry him." She paused for a moment, and then must have taken their silence for confusion because when she continued, she said, "Sons carry on the family name. And in this case, his father stands to inherit a nice chunk of change if he produces a male offspring."

She frowned.

Reid nodded. "You don't want that to be the deciding factor of him asking you to marry him. You want him to ask you because he loves you and he wants his daughter every bit as much as he would want a son."

She nodded as a sad expression settled on her face. "Yes. But it's not going to happen. That's why we're leaving town. I've decided to accept the job running a bed and breakfast in Maine."

Reid watched as Blake took out a picture and showed it to Betsy.

The younger woman frowned. "Who's this?"

Blake asked, "You don't recognize George Wilson?"

Betsy shook her head. "No. Should I?"

"He went to the same high school you did."

Betsy shook her head. "The only one I had eyes for was Lenny Stankovic."

Reid put his hands in his pockets. "Just one more question. Can you think of anyone who might want to hurt George and Lenny?"

Betsy snorted. "No wa…" She paused. "There was a girl when we were younger. Victoria Denton. Her younger sister was in the same grade as Lenny. She was a couple of years older."

Blake and Reid looked at each other, and then Blake asked, "What was the sister's name?"

"Lucita. She was hit by a car when she was eight, and the family fell apart after that. Victoria went into foster care, and a few months later, the father committed suicide. Thing is, she kind of stalked Lenny until she got sent to a foster home in New York."

Reid's eyes widened. "What kinds of things did she do?"

"Slashed his bike tires, toilet papered his house, and I think I heard something about her threatening him with a pocket knife."

Blake nodded. "All right. Thank you for your time. If there's anything else, we'll be in touch."

Betsy hesitated for an instant before saying, "I'm leaving town later today. I don't want to risk Giorgio's father finding out about him."

After a few more pleasantries, they said their goodbyes and the two headed for their SUV.

 **Derek Morgan** climbed out of the SUV and made his way to the house of Laurie Deckman. He'd no sooner rang the doorbell then the door was pulled open. The woman in front of him was disheveled, as if she'd been in a fight of some kind. Derek took out his badge and showed it to the woman.

Laurie Deckman smiled wryly. "I had a feeling you'd be coming to see me after the plumber was here with Agent Rossi."

"Why's that?"

She shrugged before picking up a card from the entry room table and handing it to him. "I don't know why the FBI is in town, but I recognized Agent Rossi right off. I have to admit to wondering why an agent would be trailing around with a plumber."

Derek looked briefly at the card before returning his gaze to the woman before him. "Are you working a case?"

Laurie gave a brisk nod. "I was hired by Victoria Denton to dig up everything I could on Lenny Stankovic. She wanted to find something to use to destroy his reputation."

"Now why would she want to do that?"

Laurie shrugged again. "You might as well come in and get comfortable. This could take a bit."

Derek followed her into the living room and sat down on the sofa as she took the overstuffed chair by the window.

Laurie crossed one leg over the other before relaxing back in the chair. "Three months ago, I was approached by Victoria to investigate Mr. Stankovic. She gave me what little information she had and asked me to do some digging. As I said, she wanted to discredit him, big-time."

Derek showed no reaction as he waited for her to continue.

Laurie sighed. "Victoria, or Tori as she likes to be called, grew up in Trenton until she was thirteen. She had a younger sister, Lucita, who was killed by a car. According to Tori, the reason her sister ran out in front of the car was because of something Lenny said to her."

"They were both kids."

Laurie nodded. "Tori was placed in foster care because her parents blamed her for the death. She was the older sister and should have been looking out for her sister."

"That's a lot of responsibility to place on a kid."

"She never forgot or forgave Lenny. That's why she's come back to Trenton." Laurie bit her bottomed lip, then continued. "She's unstable. When I first started working for her, she was better able to hide it, but as we've spent more time in Trenton, it's getting harder and harder."

"What do you mean?"

Laurie took hold of the hat she was wearing and removed it to display her head, where there was a missing chunk of hair. "She did this a couple of days ago. This morning when she stopped by on her way to work, she told me that if I didn't have something for her soon, she couldn't guarantee that my daughter Fran would be safe."

Derek frowned. "She threatened your baby?"

Laurie nodded. "She did more than threaten. Before we came to Trenton, she took her and left me with her son, Finn. She said that was to ensure I had her best interests in mind."

"Do you have a picture of your daughter?"

Laurie reached over to the end table beside her and lifted a framed photo that she handed to him. There was another picture tucked into the corner of the frame. "Fran is the one on the frame. The smaller photo is of Finn."

Derek had the feeling that there was more going on here than the woman was letting on. "Do you mind if I hang on to these?"

Laurie hesitated. "I'd like them back at some point."

Derek nodded. "I'll see to it."

There was a buzzing sound, and Derek pulled his phone from its place on his belt. "Morgan."

"Derek, Hotch needs you to meet him at the police station. They have Victoria Denton in custody."

Derek looked over at Laurie. "All right. Thanks, Baby Girl." He replaced his phone and then said, "Victoria Denton is in police custody. I'd like you to come down to the station with me."

Laurie hesitated for a fraction of a second, and then she nodded. "I'll bring Finn with me, if that's okay. Do you know where my daughter is?"

Derek shook his head. "There was no mention of a baby."

They both stood, and he waited for Laurie to make her way to the baby's room and return with the infant. Although he'd seen the resemblance in the photo, seeing the real deal made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.

There was no doubt in his mind he was looking at Blake's nephew, Peter.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Stephanie carefully raised her hands to waist level, hoping Ranger would see the action and know things weren't going as they expected. She smiled wryly, thinking when did they ever go exactly as planned? As the two in the house backed up, they slowly made their way inside.

Victoria scowled at them. "You're ruining everything!"

"How are we doing that?"

Victoria lifted the hand holding the gun and placed the back of her hand against her forehead. "I knew the minute you saw me that you recognized me."

Stephanie started to say something, but Victoria waved the gun at her. "Don't try to lie. I saw it in your face!"

Lula leaned over to whisper, "I think she's gone nutzoid."

Mooner patted Victoria's shoulder. "Now, now, give dudette a chance to help you."

Victoria swung the gun so it hit Mooner on the side of the head, and he went down like a felled tree. She snarled, "I don't want help. I want to finish what I came here to do."

Stephanie took a step in Mooner's direction but was brought up short as Victoria pointed the gun in her direction and pulled back the trigger. Once again, Stephanie raised her hands at her side. "I just wanted to check on him."

Victoria sneered, "It won't do you any good. None of you are leaving here alive."

Out of the corner of her eye, Stephanie saw movement outside the window. The tingling at the back of her neck told her Ranger was close. "Why don't we sit down and talk about this?"

There was hysteria in Victoria's voice as she screamed, "No! I don't want to talk. I can still get him before the cops find me once I kill the two of you."

Stephanie took a deep breath. "Is it Lenny you're after?"

Victoria's eyes hardened. "What do you know about it?"

"We've done some digging into your background. I know that you're Lucita's sister."

Victoria dropped to the sofa, a wild look in her eyes. "My poor baby sister. It's his fault she's dead. The only good one in the family. Not at all like her twin."

"Why do you say that?"

Victoria snorted. "I'm not dumb, Stephanie. I know what you're trying to do, and it won't work."

The sound of a door creaking reached them. Victoria stood, a look of madness in her eyes. She raised the gun so that it was once again pointing directly at Stephanie. Before she could do anything further, there was a flash of movement from the opposite direction, and in the next instant, Victoria was facedown on the ground and Ranger was putting handcuffs on her.

Stephanie moved over beside him, and when he stood, he put his arm around her and hugged her closer to him.

Within minutes, Mooner's home was filled with police, EMTs, RangeMan personnel, and the BAU agents. Hotch and JJ took custody of Victoria and headed to police headquarters as Joe took charge of the scene and orchestrated the collecting of any evidence that might be on scene.

Within a few minutes, Mooner was on his way to the hospital, and everyone was cleared out except a handful of people.

Stephanie peered at Joe. "You don't need us here anymore, do you?"

Morelli shook his head. "No. We have everything we need."

She nodded. "All right. We're heading down to the cop shop. I'm anxious to find out if they've learned anything new."

Morelli nodded. "I'm going to swing by the hospital."

Stephanie placed a hand on his forearm. "Can you check on Eddie for me?"

Joe nodded.

"Let us know how Robyn's doing, too."

"Will do."

Ranger leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Ready?"

"Yeah. I really think she's crazy. She had a look in her eyes…"

Ranger led her to the Cayenne, and after making sure she was set, he climbed behind the wheel. In no time they were parked at the police station and heading inside. As they neared the door, Derek Morgan joined them with Laurie Deckman, who was carrying an infant.

They made their way inside, where they joined a small group of police officers.

Carl's expression was grim as he and Big Dog moved over to join them. "She went berserk when they pulled up outside. The agents are in with her now, but..."

Stephanie placed a hand on her stomach. She felt like she'd ridden a roller coaster three times too many and her stomach had been left on the ground long before that. This feeling that something was off had never been so strong before. She met Carl's gaze as she said, "You don't think they're going to get anything useful out of her, do you?"

He shook his head. "She was ranting about things that made no sense. I seriously doubt we'll ever know the truth from that one."

Out of the corner of her eye, Stephanie saw Laurie smile before bending her head to the child she was carrying. She put it off as Laurie just interacting with the baby.

At that instant, they were joined by Reid and Blake.

Morgan placed a hand on Laurie's shoulder. "We need to take the baby and run some tests."

Laurie turned quickly so she was looking directly at him.

Stephanie sensed that the other woman wasn't as calm as she was projecting herself to be, but the only response she gave to Derek's words was a brisk nod.

He took the baby from her and moved over to where Blake was standing at the back of the room.

From the expression on Blake's face, Stephanie had the feeling that the baby was the one who belonged to her niece. She watched as Blake took the child from Morgan and hugged him close to her. A few seconds later, she left with Reid, and Derek moved to join them again.

For twenty minutes, the group stood around not doing much as they waited to see what the agents would learn. Stephanie used the time to talk with Laurie. The other woman had just regaled her with the fight that took a chunk of her hair when the door to the interrogation room opened and Hotch stepped out.

Hotch looked around and zeroed in on Morgan. He moved in their direction, and when he reached them, in a low voice, he said, "I need you to go to her apartment and see what you can find."

Derek glanced at Laurie, who at this point was a few feet away, and said, "According to Ms. Deckman, Ms. Dane is actually Victoria Denton. Her younger sister, Lucita, was killed by a car when the girl ran out in the road after a disagreement with Lenny Stankovic."

Hotch's eyes narrowed. "Yes, we have that information from what Stephanie and Penelope dug up. We're getting nowhere, though. She's been rambling since we took custody of her."

Morgan frowned. "This could take a while."

Hotch nodded.

Ranger's phone rang, and he took it out and answered with his customary, "Yo."

Stephanie watched as he listened to whoever was on the other end. When he smiled and then turned to her, she had a feeling it was about her grandma.

Sure enough, once he replaced the phone on his belt, he said, "That was Lester. Your granny's insisting on going to the Clip and Curl to get her hair fixed."

Stephanie grinned. "I'm surprised she waited this long."

Her gaze went to Laurie as she asked, "Is it all right if we take Laurie with us? Loretta is a wiz with hair, and I'm sure she can help her."

Derek responded by saying, "I don't see why not."

Stephanie moved over to the other woman. "We're going to the Clip and Curl. Why don't you come with us, and we can see what they can do to disguise it so that no one will know there's any hair missing?"

Once the words were out of her mouth, she wanted to recall them. Something about the way the woman was looking at her made her wish she'd never said anything to her. In the next instant, the feeling was gone and Laurie Deckman was giving her a shy smile as she nodded her head.

"I'd like that very much. Thank you."

Stephanie looked over to Ranger, and he moved to join them. His arm went around her waist, and she instantly felt better. The three of them moved through the police station to the exit, and in no time, they were in the Cayenne, heading to the Clip and Curl.

 **Edna** stood at the stove, looking off into space as the bacon sizzled in the pan. It worried her that she wasn't able to remember what had happened before she was attacked. From her session with Derek, a few small pieces had fit into place, but there was still a giant hole that needed to be filled in. The sound of a chair being scraped back on the floor brought her attention back to what she was doing in time to see the flames shooting up in the air. In the next instant, strong arms were wrapped around her and lifting her in the air to move her away from the danger.

Lester set her on her feet a short distance from the stove, and then in a few quick movements, he had the fire put out and was taking care of the charred mess in the pan.

She shook her head. "I don't know what got into me. I haven't burned bacon since the very first time I made it for my husband. Of course, then I was remembering the night before…"

A groan had her looking over at Lester. From the expression on his face and the pink tinge of his skin, she guessed she'd given him too much information. She chuckled. "Don't get your boxers in a twist."

A twinkle entered his eyes in the second before he winked. "I don't wear boxers." His eyebrows waggled, and then he went on, "I don't wear tighty-whiteys or briefs, either."

Edna imagined her eyes glazing over as she pictured him standing there commando under his black cargos. The sound of a chuckle brought her back to what was going on, and she grinned before saying, "That was almost as good as seeing Ranger naked."

One eyebrow rose as Lester stood there looking at her. "Almost? I think I'm insulted."

She chuckled. "No need to be. You're pretty impressive yourself, but let's face it… He's a Cuban God."

Lester shook his head before turning back to the stove and giving it a onceover.

Penelope Garcia hurried into the room and came to a stop as she saw the two of them standing there. "What happened?"

Edna gave a disgusted snort. "I burned the bacon like a rookie cook."

Penelope gave her a look of concern. "Are you all right?"

Edna nodded. "Yes. Lester pulled me away before I got burned."

A knock on the front door had Edna looking at the other two with a look of horror.

Penelope rushed forward and placed her hand on Edna's forearm. "What's wrong?"

"I can't believe I didn't know someone was here."

Lester chuckled. "Cut yourself some slack. You've had a head injury, and there was a fire in the kitchen. You were distracted."

Edna waved her hand in the air and moved through to the front door so she could answer it. Her eyes widened as she opened the door to find three young men dressed in SWAT black—as Stephanie referred to the dress of the Merry Men.

The man with the flaming skull tattooed on his forehead—whom she remembered as Cal, from when her granddaughter, Val, gave birth to her youngest—sent her a look that seemed to be assessing her. "An alarm went off, and Tank sent us to make sure everything is okay."

She smiled at the young man and stepped back so they could enter. "Come on in. Everything's fine. Lester took care of it."

Just then, Lester moved up beside her and said, "Everything is under control."

Cal nodded, and the trio turned as one and headed back to the two black SUVs parked at the curb.

Edna's eyes widened. "He doesn't waste any words, does he?"

Lester shook his head. "No, ma'am, he doesn't, but then, neither do the rest of us."

Edna turned and headed back toward the kitchen where they'd left Penelope. Her gaze went to the mirror as they passed, and she gave a squeak of dismay as she caught a look at herself.

Lester frowned. "What?"

"I look a sight. I can't be going around like this. I need to call Loretta and see if she can fit me in as an emergency."

Lester's frown deepened. "Loretta?"

"She works at the Clip and Curl."

Lester started to fidget. "I don't know that that would be a good idea."

Edna gave him a steely look. "We can do this one of two ways. Either you know about it and I make the appointment, or I sneak out of the house and go without you."

Lester looked at her assessingly for several seconds before shaking his head and saying, "Make the appointment. But if Stephanie gets on my case about this, you're in trouble."

Edna grinned. "Stephanie would understand."

Lester chuckled. "You're probably right."

Edna hurried upstairs to do as much damage control to her hair as possible without professional help. She'd thought a good washing would be enough to get the dried blood out of her hair, but she hadn't counted on the blood interacting with the chemicals from the perm she'd just gotten to color her hair such a puce color. Then there was the matted hair that she'd been unable to do anything with. Of course, she hadn't planned on going anywhere for a few days, so she'd thought it would be okay. That was before she'd seen her reflection, and now there was no way she could tolerate leaving it the way it was. If nothing else, Derek and Penelope were seeing her on a daily basis.

She found an old scarf that her husband had given her their first Christmas together and draped it over her head before going back downstairs.

Lester was waiting for her in the entryway, and as she reached the bottom, his gaze met hers. "Stephanie and Ranger will be meeting us at the Clip and Curl."

Edna frowned. "You didn't need to bother Stephanie with this."

He shook his head. "It was necessary. Ranger said they had a suspect who looked good for attacking you, but it was a dead end. Stephanie's taking the woman to the Clip and Curl so she can get her hair fixed."

Edna narrowed her eyes and gave Lester a steely look for several seconds. He didn't flinch. After a few seconds, she let out a little sigh before saying, "All right. Let's rock and roll so we can get there before they get too busy. I don't want half the 'Burg seeing me like this."

Lester grinned. "Yes, ma'am."

Edna glared at him. "Are you sassing me, sonny?"

He leaned down and kissed her cheek. "Maybe a little." He held his arm out with the elbow crooked so that she could take it, and then the two of them headed for the door.

Ten minutes later, Lester was escorting Edna inside the Clip and Curl. The minute they stepped inside, four heads swiveled in their direction. Although Edna thought there was a good chance they were looking her way due to the recent attack, she admitted there was just as much chance that the ladies were looking Lester's way. After all, he was one hot dish.

Loretta, the owner and head beautician, smiled at them and asked, "What brings you in, Edna? You're not due for a perm for another two weeks."

Edna carefully removed the scarf. "I don't think this can wait two weeks."

There was a collective gasp, and Edna let her gaze move around the room. Her gaze narrowed on Sally, the newest hire just out of beauty school, as the younger woman lifted her phone in the air. "You take my picture, and my friend here will destroy that phone before you can hit the Send button."

Sally looked wistfully at the phone, and then her gaze moved to Lester and glazed over. Before she could make a decision one way or the other, her customer snorted and whispered in a loud aside, "If you're trying to dissuade her, you're going about it the wrong way. Hell, I'd take your picture just to have tall, dark, and handsome come my way."

Sally giggled. "Oh, Tina."

Edna looked up at Lester to see there was a slight pink tinge to his jaw as he eyed Tina.

The door to the shop opened, and Stephanie and Ranger entered, along with a woman who looked vaguely familiar. Edna tried to place where she knew the woman from but couldn't. A sharp pain in her head made her wince, and the more she tried to puzzle it together, the worse the pain got.

Loretta took the cape off Mildred Scalio and gave it a brisk shake. "All right, Edna. Let me finish up with Mildred, and then we can see what we can do to get your hair looking more normal."

Edna waited while Loretta took money from Mildred and then waved her back to the sinks, where she was directed to a seat.

Loretta doused her hair and applied shampoo.

Edna hissed as pain raced through her scalp as Loretta started scrubbing her tender scalp.

Loretta hesitated. "I'm sorry, Edna. I wasn't thinking."

With that, she took infinite care to move gently on Edna's scalp so as not to hurt her again. It was as Loretta was rinsing her hair out after the second washing that a blinding pain shot through her head and she cried out.

Instantly, Lester, Stephanie, and Ranger were beside her. Stephanie placed her hand on Edna's arm. "Are you all right, Grandma?"

Edna felt shaky as she was deluged with a series of memory flashes. Her voice was raspy, not more than a whisper, as she said, "She was there."

Stephanie frowned. "Who was there?"

"The woman you brought here. She was in the bathroom at the Quaker Bridge Mall."

Stephanie glanced at Ranger but said nothing as they listened to her continue her story.

Edna shook her head. "She was changing the baby, and I went over for a closer look." Her gaze met Stephanie's. "You know how I love babies. Anyway, the baby was dressed like a girl, but the plumbing was all wrong."

Stephanie, Ranger, and Lester all looked at each other.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Stephanie wasn't surprised as the door opened and Derek Morgan walked into the Clip and Curl with his weapon drawn. There was an audible gasp from the women as he moved closer to Laurie Deckman.

Stephanie took note of the fact that Laurie had moved considerably from where they'd left her while they were dealing with Grandma Mazur's recovering her memory. From the rapt look on her face, Stephanie would be willing to bet that the other woman had been going to make a break for it but was stopped by Derek's entrance.

Derek flicked a glance in their direction as he asked, "Everything all right?"

Stephanie nodded. "Grandma remembered Ms. Deckman from the mall."

Derek put his weapon away and handcuffed Laurie's hands behind her back. "It's not Deckman; it's Denton. She's Victoria's younger sister."

As Derek read Laurie her rights, something Victoria said while they were at Mooner's came back to her. "You're Lucita's twin."

Laurie scowled at them. "If I'd left this to Victoria, none of them would have paid."

Stephanie shook her head. "Those people you killed had nothing to do with your sister's death."

Laurie's scowl turned into a smug smile. "They served their purpose."

"And what purpose was that?" Derek asked.

Laurie laughed. "I had to practice on someone, didn't I?"

"I get that, but why kill the children?"

A gleam entered her eyes as she smiled and said, "They were my reward."

Stephanie felt her stomach churn. "You enjoyed killing those innocent children?"

Laurie laughed. "Don't look so shocked." She sighed. "Too bad Lenny and Mary Lou's kids are out of town. I was looking forward to having some fun with them. I would have had so much fun killing them one at a time and watching the two of them fall apart. Then once all the kiddies were dead, I could enjoy killing them."

Derek's eyes narrowed. "Now you get to enjoy a prison cell."

He took hold of Laurie's upper arm and directed her out of the Clip and Curl as they all looked on.

Stephanie leaned into Ranger. "So it's over?"

He paused for a beat before replying, "The agents seem to think they have their killer."

She looked up at him silently for several seconds. The nuances of his tone seemed to be telling her something, but she didn't know just what that was.

Grandma Mazur asked, "Does this mean I lose my bodyguard?"

Ranger lifted the corner of his mouth into a smile as he said, "Why don't we give it another few days?"

She grinned. "Hot damn!" She sat forward in the chair so that she was closer to where they were standing and lowered her voice to a loud whisper as she said, "Not that I don't like Lester, or that he's not doing a bang-up job—" she paused, then leaned in even closer "—but do you think you could have that hottie Binkie follow me around for a while?"

Stephanie laughed.

Ranger winked at her, then replied, "Diaz will be with you until after the football game tomorrow, and then we'll see about a switch."

Grandma looked a bit perturbed until Ranger got to the end. "Okay. I got two viewings to get to tonight. Better have him bring some tools. I heard that Dexter Mortemer is having a closed casket 'cause they couldn't get all his parts to cooperate."

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "I know I'm going to regret asking, but what parts are those?"

"His winkie. Mildred Stoller said he had a monster hard-on and they haven't been able to get it down."

The slight vibrations of Ranger shoulders as he silently laughed told Stephanie that he was amused by what her grandmother had just said...or, more likely, he was amused knowing what was in store for Diaz that evening.

Her eyes widened. She leaned up to briefly kiss Ranger's cheek and whispered, "We can get in the pool. We have inside information."

Ranger gave her a slight smile. "That would be cheating."

She shrugged. "We'll use the money for something all the guys would enjoy."

Within minutes, Lester had left with Grandma Mazur and Stephanie and Ranger were on their way to the police station.

 **Hotch** , Rossi, and Morgan spent the better part of the afternoon taking turns questioning Victoria and Laurie Denton.

Stephanie watched through the two-way mirror, but her frustration grew as the agents weren't able to get the details of the crimes from either of the women. Victoria seemed to have gone off the deep end, but Laurie seemed to be taunting them with just enough of the details without coming right out and admitting anything.

For all intents and purposes, the police department was treating this as a closed case. They believed they had the culprit, and their energies were geared toward other matters. Stephanie just wished she could silence the gnawing feeling of dread she'd had since they left the Clip and Curl.

It was late when questioning stopped. Laurie Denton looked at the two-way mirror and smiled the same creepy smile she'd displayed when she talked of killing Lenny and Mary Lou's children. Stephanie had the feeling the other woman was looking directly at her when she said, "I'm done talking. I want my lawyer."

Since there was no more they could do at the police station, Ranger wrapped his arm around her waist and suggested they head home. She nodded and let him lead her to the Cayenne.

Within a matter of minutes, Ranger was pulling into his parking space in the garage of the RangeMan building. After turning off the vehicle, he turned to her and cupped the side of her face in the palm of his hand. "I see the wheels turning, Babe. Want to talk?"

Stephanie sighed. "I can't help feeling there's something we aren't seeing. Why did you say what you did about the agents thinking they have the killer?"

Ranger had his blank face on as he looked out the windshield. After several seconds of silence, he turned back to her and said, "These two seem more sporadic in their actions. I find it hard to believe that they could pull off something like this on their own. After all, this has taken months to pull off. Surely someone would have caught on to the erratic insanity of those two."

Stephanie thought about it for several seconds. "There's no doubt that Laurie Denton was at the Quaker Bridge Mall."

Ranger gave a slight nod of his head. "But there's no concrete proof that she's the one who hit your grandmother on the head."

Stephanie's eyes widened. "You think there might have been another woman in the bathroom who saw what happened, and when Grandma came out of the stall, she's the one who hit her on the head to protect their secret?"

Once again, a slight movement of Ranger's head indicated his agreement with her statement.

Stephanie sighed. "It's late. We have to be up early in the morning to have everything ready for the game against the police department."

Ranger leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "I want to check in with Diaz to see how things went with your grandmother. We'll make sure she's safe, as well as Lenny and Mary Lou. Until we know all the facts and make sure the person who's targeting them is actually in police custody, they'll be under RangeMan's protection."

Stephanie leaned up and kissed him. "Thank you. I feel so much better, knowing that my friends and Grandma are being watched over by the guys."

A slight lift at the corner of Ranger's mouth sufficed as a grin before he leaned down and kissed her again. It was several minutes before they broke apart and made their way to the elevator.

 **Stephanie** glanced into the rearview mirror as she pulled into the parking lot adjacent to the field where the Rangemen would be playing the police officers. She wanted to make sure that her tails were in place. As much as she was willing to head off without them when she was on her own, knowing that Mary Lou was with her and there was still a question that the person responsible for killing all of those people had actually been caught, she wasn't willing to take any chances.

Sure enough, Eric and Fritz were already exiting their vehicle and waiting for the girls to exit the Cayenne.

As Stephanie and Lula climbed out of the front, Mary Lou and Penelope exited from the backseat. The four of them headed for the bleachers so they could get good seats.

Ranger and the rest of the guys had left for the park earlier so they could have one more session with players from the Steelers. Lenny and Derek had gone with them.

Stephanie scanned the bleachers and had to smile as Mooner stood and waved his arms in the air as he called, "Dudette!"

The four of them climbed the steps as they made their way to where her friend was already seated with Sally Sweet—a hairy cross-dresser who stood about six foot four—and Randy Briggs—a three-foot midget.

As they reached them, Mooner said, "I saved you some seats."

Stephanie was still smiling as she said, "Thanks. We have a few more people joining us."

Since Laurie Denton had invoked her rights, all questioning had stopped. The agents were joining them for the football game. Stephanie had the feeling it was mostly so that in case the two women weren't the only ones involved, they would be close at hand if someone else tried something in regards to Lenny and Mary Lou.

The four of them had just gotten seated when the others joined them.

As she looked around, she recognized several RangeMan employees filtered into the crowd as well. She wondered if they were here to make sure the guys won the game as much as to protect the Stankovics. After all, if Ranger's team lost, all of the guys would be required to wear dresses at the Policeman's Ball the following Saturday.

Stephanie watched as the two teams made their way onto the field.

 **A/N:** Sorry for the delay in getting the chapter to you. I've been dealing with vertigo. The next chapter is also the last chapter, and that will be posted on time.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

As they made their way onto the field, Ranger made eye contact with each member of his team. Over the course of the past few weeks, they'd worked hard with their counterparts from the Pittsburgh Steelers. They had several moves and countermoves… Ranger lifted the corner of his mouth slightly as he thought about the surprise in store for the police department's team. He led his team to the far side of the field. Once there, he called a huddle.

"We all know what's at stake here."

All eyes moved to Lester.

Lester winced. "Yeah. If we lose, I'll need to go into witness protection."

Tank grunted. "That won't save your ass if we lose, Santos."

Just then, they were joined by Ben Roethlisberger.

Ranger flicked a glance over to where the Trenton police department guys were huddled and noticed that a couple of the team were ranting and pointing in their direction. He turned his attention back to Ben and shook hands. "Glad you could make it."

Ben grinned. "From the yelling going on from the other team, looks like you guys are the only ones."

Chuckles were heard from the guys.

Ben motioned to the stands, and they followed the direction of his gesture to see the rest of the team they'd been practicing with was sitting in the stands. "We thought you could use some moral support."

Ranger gave a minute nod of his head. "Appreciate it."

They said their good-byes, and Ranger turned back to his team. "All right. Let's get this show on the road."

The guys all put their fists into the middle and did a group fist bump before moving to their respective places on the field.

Joe Juniak stood in the middle of the field. Ranger stepped up beside him at the same time as Morelli.

Juniak's brow knitted in a frown. "I want a clean game."

Ranger gave a slight nod, knowing that he and his team were playing this game on the up and up. It was the police department's team that planned to use the knowledge they'd gained from bugging their equipment.

Morelli smirked. "No worries about that."

Ranger's eyes narrowed.

Juniak growled, "Shake hands."

Both men complied.

Juniak continued. "Ranger, you call the toss."

"Heads."

Juniak threw the quarter in the air and caught it as it came back down before slapping it on the back of his forearm and lifting his hand so that both men could see the coin. "Heads, it is."

Ranger looked at Morelli. "We'll receive."

Morelli nodded.

They both moved back to where their own teams were congregating and moved into a huddle.

"We're receiving. Whoever gets the ball, move it down the field as far as you can."

All heads nodded agreement, and they did another fist bump before Ranger called, "Break."

He moved off the field as the rest of his team got into place. As his gaze moved over to the other side, he observed that Morelli was on the sidelines as well. His gaze moved back to the field in time to see Costanza kick the ball toward where the RangeMan team was fanned out on their end of the field.

Tank caught the ball and started running toward the goal posts behind the police department's team.

It was all he could do not to break out in laughter as he caught the expressions on the cop's faces. There was absolute terror there. Not one of the officers was moving to intercept Tank.

Morelli cupped his hand on either side of his mouth and yelled, "You bozos are going to look lovely in dresses."

The horror changed to resignation as they moved as one to tackle Tank, who by then was within twenty yards of getting into the end zone.

There was determination on Tank's face as the other team caught hold of him and tried to take him down. He dragged them another ten yards before they finally succeeded in taking him down.

From where he was standing, Ranger could see the smile on Tank's face as he stood and looked at how close he was to the end zone. They had a whopping two yards to go for a touchdown.

Ranger moved onto the field once more. He slapped Tank on the back to congratulate him on his gain and for putting them in a great position for the first play.

The team got into position. Ranger took the quarterback position as Binkie got in position to hand him the ball. Ram and Tank were guards, Vince and Junior were tackles, Hector was a tight end, Cal was the running back, and Hal the halfback, which left Bobby and Lester as the wide receivers.

His gaze scanned over his team and then moved to the opposition. He kept his gaze on them as he started calling out numbers. The instant he said "hike," the ball was in his hands and he was on the move.

Ram and Tank flanked him on either side as he made his way into the end zone for the touchdown. Just like that, they were in the lead.

Ranger went over to the sidelines now that his part in the action was done for the time being.

Woody and Rodriguez made their way onto the field as the team set up for the kick.

Woody squatted down to hold the ball in position, and as soon as he had it set up, Rodriguez was running forward to kick the ball in the air. They all watched as the football went over the bar for the extra point.

Manny ran onto the field to take his part in the game.

The cops got into position to receive the ball, and Manny kicked it into their end zone.

Big Dog got possession of the ball and started running it down the field.

Ranger watched as his team went into their defensive roles. Ram and Woody were ends, Vince and Rodriguez were tackles, and Hal and Cal the outside linebackers. Tank was the middle linebacker, Bobby and Manny the cornerbacks, and finally, Binkie and Lester were the safeties.

Tank, Hal, and Cal were on a collision course with Big Dog. The closer he got to the three of them, the slower he was moving. They followed his every change of direction. It was Hal who made the tackle at the thirty yard line.

Morelli entered the game, and it was the cops' turn to try for a touchdown.

 **The cheers** were loud as Ranger ran into the end zone for the touchdown, and they got even louder when the extra point was scored.

Stephanie couldn't help noticing that Mary Lou was fidgeting more than she was watching the play on the field. She reached over and put her hand on her friend's leg. "What's wrong, Mare?"

Mary Lou sighed. "I don't know. I should be happy. They have two people in custody. I just can't help thinking, what if they aren't the right ones?"

Stephanie hadn't told her friend of her own reservations. She didn't want to add to her stress level. Instead, she patted Mary Lou's leg and said, "You're surrounded by agents. You're pretty safe here."

Mary Lou's face crumpled. "But what about Lenny?"

"Don't worry. Ranger has guys watching over Lenny."

Mary Lou nodded her head. "That's the only thing helping me hold it together. I just need to know for sure that it's all over."

A cheer from the field brought their attention back to the field in time to see the football go over the goal post to tie the two teams.

Stephanie watched as the ball was once again kicked toward the RangeMan side of the field. This time it was Woody who caught the ball and started down the field.

Apparently the cops didn't hold Woody in as great esteem as they did Tank, because almost instantly, there were three officers tackling him at the RangeMan twenty-five yard line. It took them an additional five yards to bring him down.

The team went over to the side and huddled. From the motions Lenny was making, she knew he was setting up the play they would be using. They broke up, and the team made its way onto the field.

Ranger moved into the shotgun position and called hike.

Lester ran behind Binkie and took the ball, running to the left with the defense following, and then he handed the ball off to Hal, who ran to the right, where there was a large open space, allowing him to gain twenty yards before he was brought down.

Their section of the bleachers stood cheering. They had their first down.

As Stephanie watched the field, bits of conversation filtered through to her. Something about the play that was just performed on the field got her thinking about the situation with Mary Lou and Lenny.

As the team broke from the huddle to go to the line of scrimmage, Stephanie turned to where Hotch and the others were seated and said, "Double reverse play."

They looked at her strangely, not seeming to understand what she was getting at, and she couldn't say as she blamed them.

Taking a deep breath, she tried to explain what she was thinking. "The play that Ranger just called was a double reverse. If Victoria was the quarterback, Laurie took the ball from her and led everyone in one direction."

She was met by puzzled looks.

Shaking her head, Stephanie asked, "Who did Laurie hand the ball off to? Both of them are totally insane. I can't believe that they were able to pull off all these murders without giving themselves away." She turned to Penelope. "From what we found before Victoria shot her way out of the police station, neither one of them have the education to pull this off. Victoria focused her energies on getting hired at the police department, and Laurie followed a similar path. Neither one of them would have the skills to take on all the jobs that the Unsub's had over the past few months."

Penelope lifted her computer onto her lap and booted the system up. Her fingers flew over the keyboard as Stephanie continued to talk.

Stephanie added, "One more thing. Who is Lexus? We haven't found her yet. You said Lexus was supposed to be watching Lucita the day she died."

Penelope was nodding her head. "I just assumed that Lexus and Victoria were the same person."

Mary Lou gasped.

All eyes turned to her.

"When Betsy locked me in the janitor's closet, I heard some of the players laughing and talking about a girl they'd played a trick on. They called her Easy Lexus." She turned to Stephanie. "I didn't think any more of it when I was rescued. When I went to go back in the gym, I bumped into Lisa Brown as she ran out. She gave Lenny an odd look but never said anything."

Stephanie pulled her phone out and sent a text to the guys, letting them know to be on heightened alert. She scanned the bleachers and field, and as much as her stomach was telling her something was wrong, she wasn't able to see anything out of place.

Rossi stood. "I'm going to take a look around. The Brown woman was the only one we weren't able to talk to. From the look of the house, it's possible she's left and we've missed our window to act."

Hotch nodded. "I'll take a look around the locker rooms and buildings."

Reid took out his phone and punched in a number. After waiting a few seconds, he said, "Morgan, it's possible that our Unsub is still loose." He listened for several seconds and said, "The Brown woman is a possibility."

Although she paid attention to what Reid was saying, her gaze went to the field where Ranger and the team were huddled. They hadn't been able to move the ball too far from where Hal had taken it. She desperately wanted to talk to Ranger and tell him of this new development.

Stephanie turned to Sally Sweet. "What play is this?"

"This is their fourth down. They need ten yards or the ball gets turned over."

Stephanie watched anxiously as Ranger called the hike and got the ball from Binkie. He backed up to hand the ball off to Cal, who ran left before turning back and lateralled—the ball carrier throws the football to a teammate in a direction parallel to or away from the opponents' goal line—the ball back to Ranger. Bobby moved so that he would be in position to catch the ball, but the defensemen ignored Cal and continued forward after Ranger so that when the ball was thrown back to him, they were there to tackle him.

Ranger made his way off the field, and Stephanie lost no time in getting her cell out and giving him a call.

"Yo."

She barely waited for him to get his customary greeting out before she blurted out, "Lenny's still in danger. There's still a player unaccounted for. Lisa Brown."

Ranger looked up at her, and she felt herself calming instantly. She could almost hear him telling her that everything would be all right, even though all he said was, "Babe."

Ranger's hand lifted and he made a motion.

Almost instantly, her shadows were there, as well as several of the other Rangemen who were in the crowd today.

Movement on the field caught her eye, and she saw an oversize hot dog making its way to where Ranger, Morgan, and Lenny were standing on the side of the field. The phone was still to her ear, and she asked, "Ranger, did you arrange for a mascot?"

He turned, and everything seemed to happen in slow motion.

Ranger and Morgan moved toward the hot dog, and as if sensing danger, the hot dog took off. Morgan made a tackle, and once the hot dog was down on the ground, the top came off to expose Lisa Brown. She lifted a Glock in the air and took aim at Lenny.

A shot rang out, and Lisa Brown went down.

Bobby moved over and went to work on her as play was suspended.

Hotch and Rossi had made their way onto the field, and from the gun in Hotch's hand, Stephanie wondered if he'd been the one to fire the shot.

It took the ambulance ten minutes to reach them, and by that time, Bobby had the woman stabilized. When they were ready to load her onto the ambulance, Stephanie wasn't surprised to see Bobby climb in as well.

She and Mary Lou made their way down to the field. They'd just reached the sideline where Ranger and Lenny were when Joe Juniak and Morelli moved over to where Ranger was standing.

Juniak asked, "Are you able to continue, or do you forfeit?"

Morelli was smirking. "You don't have enough players, Manoso."

Ranger's eyes narrowed on Morelli.

Something Penelope said filtered into her thoughts, and Stephanie moved forward and leaned up to whisper in Ranger's ear.

He looked down at her with a raised eyebrow, and she nodded.

His gaze moved to Morgan. "You're still on the payroll. I need a fill-in for Bobby."

Morgan grinned. "You know it."

Ranger turned back to Juniak. "We're good to continue."

Stephanie could tell from the look on Joe's face that he was disappointed. She and Mary Lou went back to their seats, and play resumed.

While the team made progress, the other team matched them. Stephanie felt like she was on the edge of her seat the whole time. Although she knew the guys were aware that the police department's team had their plays and knew what they would be doing, and they'd made adjustments to the plays, she wanted to shout at them every time they let the opposition take over the ball.

For instance, she swore Carl and Big Dog were moving toward Junior—who'd taken over for Hector—before the play was even called on the fourth down. Ranger got the ball and handed the ball off to Junior who was immediately stuffed and tackled for a loss of ten yards, turning the ball over to the other team.

But then when the play was changed, it was funny to watch the cops scramble when they were wrong-footed. Like when Binkie hiked the ball to Ranger from the twenty-five yard line of the defense, and Lester ran the sideline route down the field. Ranger fake pumped to the right and then turned left and faked a throw, only to turn back to the right and throw the ball down the field to Lester, who made the catch and ran it down for a touchdown.

Of course, the other side tied the score when Morelli threw a pass to Costanza for a touchdown, and then they took the lead when Big Dog got a field goal, until Rodriguez made a field goal to once again bring them tied.

It was the last two minutes of the game, and time was ticking off the clock. The police department was ahead by a field goal. Stephanie watched as Ranger and the RangeMan crew moved into position on the line of scrimmage. This was the last play, and they needed to make this or the game was lost. Stephanie knew from the faces of the team what was coming.

Ranger got the ball in his hands and backed up to throw off. Every offensive player eligible to receive was in the end zone. Ranger pulled back his arm to throw the ball, hoping one of the guys would catch it as three defensive tackles rushed him. The rest of the defensive line was going after the players in the end zone, hoping to intercept.

Once Ranger had the ball off, he made the sign of a cross, telling everyone in the stands this indeed was a Hail Mary Pass.

 **Epilogue**

Stephanie looked in the mirror as she put the finishing touches on her makeup. Putting the lipstick in her bag, she closed the clasp as she took a look at the end result. She had to admit, Ranger was right about them dressing alike for the policeman's ball. She didn't even mind that she was wearing black instead of the cobalt blue that she'd originally wanted to wear.

Warm hands descended on her shoulders from behind, and she smiled as she tilted her head up to look at Ranger. His lips descended on hers, and it was several minutes before either of them was had any interest in anything else.

"Are you ready?"

Stephanie grinned. "I should be the one asking you that."

The corner of his mouth lifted marginally. "As ready as I'll ever be."

They made their way toward the door and took the elevator down to the garage. From the looks of it, they would be one of the last ones arriving for the Policeman's Ball.

Stephanie allowed Ranger to help her into the Cayenne before he took his place behind the wheel. As they made their way to the hall where the ball was taking place, Stephanie asked, "Will the FBI agents be there?"

Ranger nodded. "According to Morgan, they'll be there unless they get a call."

"I'm just glad that Mary Lou and Lenny are safe now."

"I talked to your father, and they'll be returning with the children this weekend."

"Mary Lou will be happy to hear that. This is the longest she's gone without the kids being around since she started having babies."

Ranger pulled into the parking lot and turned off the ignition. Exiting the vehicle, he made his way around to the passenger side and opened her door. "You look ravishing."

She grinned up at him. "So do you."

His eyes narrowed on her. "Cheeky brat."

She laughed, and he swooped in to take her mouth with his. Several seconds later, they broke apart, and Ranger wrapped his arm around her waist as he led them inside the building. The rest of the RangeMan guys were milling around as if they were waiting for them to arrive.

Lester grinned. "We ready to do this?"

As one, the group moved into the banquet hall and stopped just inside the door to look around.

All sound ceased. Stephanie turned to look behind them, and it was all she could do to keep a straight face. Carl, Big Dog, and Joe Morelli, along with Sally Sweet, entered behind them.

Sally moved over to Stephanie and asked, "What do you think of my handiwork?"

Stephanie giggled.

Carl scowled. "Just wait till the next time one of your cars blows up."

Morelli shook his head as he lifted the hem of the ball gown he was wearing to show the three-inch heels on his feet. "How do women walk in these things?"

Stephanie grinned. "Nothing to it."

Morelli grimaced. "How about switching outfits with me, Cupcake?"

She shook her head. "No thanks. I kind of like wearing a tux."

Morelli laughed. "You actually make it look good, Stephanie."

"That she does," Robyn said as she walked up to join them.

Stephanie hugged the other woman. "It's good to see you up and about."

Robyn grinned. "I wasn't missing this, no matter what." She laughed. "Have you seen Gaspick?"

Just then the object of their discussion walked by, causing Stephanie and Robyn to burst out laughing. Officer Gaspick was wearing a pink organdy dress with pink platform shoes. The outfit clashed with his curly red hair.

They spent a few more minutes talking before Stephanie and Ranger made their way over to where the FBI agents were sitting.

Hotch stood and shook hands with Ranger before motioning them to the empty seats at the table. "Please join us."

Ranger made sure Stephanie was seated before taking his own seat.

Hotch leaned forward a bit as he said, "I just wanted to say how much we enjoyed working with the two of you as well as the RangeMan team on this case."

Ranger gave a slight nod. "I'm glad we could be of service." He turned to Morgan and said, "Speaking of which, thanks again for catching that final pass."

Stephanie shook her head. "Has Lisa told you anything?"

Hotch nodded. "She's admitted everything. It seems that what the football players did to her the night of the prom caused her to break with reality. From that moment on, she took advantage of her eidetic memory to gain the skills she needed to carry out her plan. In her mind, Lenny betrayed her when he married Mary Lou."

Stephanie shook her head. "I never would have guessed that Old Man Denton was her real father and that her real name was Lexus."

Blake closed her eyes for a brief moment. "The coroner reviewed the autopsy reports and confirmed that Mr. Denton was murdered all those years ago. When he blamed Lexus for his darling Lucita's death, she flew into a rage and pushed him. He lost his balance and fell off the balcony."

Penelope frowned. "Weird how Victoria thought she was responsible for letting Lucita get hit by the car."

Morgan reached over and took hold of her hand. "Lisa played on the fact that Victoria felt responsible. But Lisa…or Lexus…was the oldest and the one who was supposed to be watching over the others."

Stephanie asked, "So when she came here, she was Lexus?"

It was Reid who made sense of the whole thing when he said, "Yes. And once Lucita was killed by the car, she reinvented herself as a much younger Lisa Brown and started going to school with your group so that she could get close to Lenny. She was desperate to fit in, and in her mind, Lenny would be her ticket to the inner circle. Then when she was humiliated at the prom, rage took over and she reinvented herself again to get even with Lenny for not loving her."

He paused for a minute before continuing. "There was a period of time when she was living a normal existence. She was in a relationship and planned to get married. She had a little boy she named Finn, and when he was nine months old, he and his father were in a car accident, and both of them died. Since then, she's been tracking down all the members of the football team and killing them one at a time."

Reid looked over to Blake before going on to say, "When she took the job at the Wilsons, Peter reminded her so much of her dead son. Lexus knew she was going to kill the family, but then she got the idea to use the body of her dead son and keep Peter as her own."

Stephanie shuddered. "And to think she almost got away with it."

Blake nodded.

A sudden thought occurred to Stephanie, and she asked, "So, what happened to the third baby?"

Reid smiled. "Ah! It seems that Laurie Denton actually had a baby eight months ago when she was living in New York. The baby's name is François. The baby's father was able to get custody, and all of Laurie's rights were stripped from her. She kidnapped the baby and brought him here with her. After the scene at the mall, Lexus fought with Laurie and ripped hair from her scalp so that people would think she was the one who attacked your Grandma Mazur. She switched the babies and threatened to harm Fran if Laurie didn't go along with her plan."

Penelope pounded her fist on the table.

Morgan covered her hand with his. "Don't worry, Mama. We got the baby back to his dad all safe." He turned to Stephanie and Ranger. "Lexus had him in the trunk of her car. It was pure luck that someone heard the baby crying when they went to get in their car. The baby was all checked out at the hospital, and his father was called. He came with a copy of the court order."

A drumroll had all of them looking at the makeshift stage set up. Joe Morelli was standing at the microphone with a hand raised to quiet people. "As all of you know, the policeman's football team lost their game against RangeMan Securities. So as penance, we were required to wear dresses to the ball. To complete our side of the agreement, I would like to toast Ranger and the rest of his team. Salute."

Everyone at the table lifted their glasses in the air to acknowledge the toast.

Ranger stood. "As a show of good sportsmanship, I have a check for ten thousand dollars made out to Chief Juniak's favorite charity, Children's Hospital of Trenton, New Jersey."

Stephanie watched as he turned to wink at her before continuing to say, "Compliments of RangeMan."

She heard Lester snicker. "So that's who won the Diaz bet." Then, as if the pieces of the puzzle finally all fit, he continued, "Hot damn! They had inside information…and a secret weapon in Steph's grandma."

 **The End**

 **A/N:** Special thanks to JenRar for her work as beta. Thanks goes out to Tina as well for help with all things football.


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